Sydney (dpa) - Arrests during a dawn raid of homes in Sydney and Melbourne have averted a "large scale" terrorist attack, police said Tuesday.
The suspects had reportedly carried out surveillance of targets such as the world-famous icons Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and rail stations and the stock exchange in Melbourne.
The 15 arrests came four days after an amendment to the terror laws was rushed through in a special session of parliament to deal with a "specific threat" to national security. The new law made it easier to detain suspects believed to be in early stages of planning attacks.
The change came at the insistence of intelligence agencies, who feared a group of locally born Moslem extremists were planning a terrorist attack.
"I am satisfied that we have disrupted what I would regard as the final stages of a large scale terrorist attack or the launch of a large scale terrorist attack in Australia," New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Maroney said.
Fifteen men were arrested after helicopters and 400 police swept through suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.
"They are currently being interviewed by police and my expectation is that they will appear in Sydney courts this morning," Maroney said.
Australia halts imminent large scale terror attack
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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
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