On Thursday, more than 800 Australian federal and state police raided 15 houses and 10 cars in Sydney, arresting 15 people and breaking up what Prime Minister Tony Abbott said was a plot by local ISIS supporters to carry out and videotape the beheadings of random victims. "This is not just suspicion, this is intent, and that's why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have," he said.
Thursday's pre-dawn raid was the largest in Australia's history, and comes a few days after the government raised the threat level in response to the perceived threat from ISIS supporters in Australia. An Australian senior ISIS leader, reported by The Associated Press to be Mohammad Ali Baryalei, called for followers to "gruesomely" kill strangers to "shock and horrify" the Australian public, prosecutor Michael Allnutt said later Thursday, at the hearing of one of the men captured in the raid, Omarjan Azari, 22. The plot required an "unusual level of fanaticism," Allnutt added.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
