Two arrested in Sydney counter-terrorism operation

Sydney, Dec 24 (EFE) As part of an ongoing counter-terrorism operation, the police have arrested two young men in Sydney, charging them with planning attacks in Australia and helping Australian jihadists to travel to Syria, local media reported Wednesday.

One of the men, aged 20, was charged with possession of documents designed to facilitate a terror attack and the other, aged 21, for breaching a control order, ABC television reported.

Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan said the police had found no evidence of an imminent attack.

"Certainly the documents talked a little bit about potential government targets and so on," he said, adding: "There is nothing that indicates any specific targets or time frame in relation to this particular activity at all."

The arrests took place after Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that the country would continue to be on alert for possible attacks following an increase in activity by alleged jihadis, according to intelligence agencies.

Abbott made this announcement after last week's siege of a popular Sydney cafe by an Iranian Muslim cleric who held 17 people hostage until he was killed in a police rescue operation.

Two hostages also died.

In September, the police arrested 15 people in Sydney and Brisbane in a huge counter-terrorism operation to foil plots to commit violent acts in Australia, including public beheadings.

In addition to the alert, the country has also adopted a plan of action to prevent citizens who have joined the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group from returning to Australia.

According to Canberra, there are some 70 Australians fighting alongside the IS and another 100 working actively in the country to provide logistic and recruitment support for the group.

--IANS/EFE

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