Christmas Day 'terror attack' foiled in Australia

Australian police say they have prevented a terror attack planned for Christmas Day in the centre of Melbourne.

Five men are in custody in connection to the alleged attack but only three faced Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Hamza Abbas, 21, Ahmed Mohamed, 24, and Abdullah Chaarani, 26, have been charged with one count of preparing or planning a terror attack.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Police allege they engaged in preparatory acts between December 1 and December 22.

"Four of the five men to face court were Australian-born men in their 20s," The Guardian reports. "A further suspect facing charges was born in Egypt." The Australians reportedly have a Lebanese background.

The youngest of the trio complained during a brief court appearance that he suffered injuries during his arrest.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said police had disrupted a substantial terror plot.

"They want to frighten Australians, they want to divide Australians, they want us to turn on each other," he said.

"But we will not let them."

The chief commissioner of Victorian Police, Graham Ashton, said the plot involved a cluster of buildings in Melbourne city centre, including Federation Square, Flinders Street Station and St Paul's Cathedral.

"The attack was going to involve an explosive event, the use of explosives," said Ashton.

The plot also involved the use of firearms and knives, police say.

The BBC says the men are believed to have "self-radicalised" online, and were inspired by Islamic State.

The area of the planned attack is a short distance from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where crowds of up to 100,000 people are expected for the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan.

Ashton said police would increase their presence at the MCG and other locations around Melbourne.

"I do stress that there's no information at this time suggesting a threat to any of those events," he said. "However, we are taking extra precautions."