Australia detains 4 in anti-terror operation

Four persons were arrested in Sydney on Saturday in an anti-terror operation, the police said.

The arrests were made after "multiple searches" were conducted by the Australian Federal Police and the New South Wales Police in the suburbs of Lakemba, Surry Hills, Wiley Park and Punchbowl in Sydney, Efe news reported.

"Four men have been taken into custody and were assisting police with their enquiries," the joint statement by the Australian Federal Police and the New South Wales Police said.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that he had been kept "closely briefed on the progress of the operations", which were ongoing. He said that the operations were "designed to disrupt and prevent plans to undertake terrorist attacks in Australia".

The raids in Sydney were conducted on the same day when Australian Attorney General George Brandis was co-hosting a sub-regional meeting on fighting cross-border terrorism in Indonesia, which also brought together representatives from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

Standing alongside the Indonesian Security Minister, Brandis announced at the end of the meeting that the six nations in attendance had "resolved to take specific, tangible steps in cooperation with one another to address the threat of foreign terrorist fighters and cross-border terrorism", which he said was becoming "more severe, not less".

--IANS

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