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Australia Foils Alleged ISIS Terror Attack

Australian authorities declared on Thursday they have foiled an alleged terror attack by supporters of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), arresting more than a dozen people in a big-time operation across Sydney.

Local authorities raided more than a dozen properties in the state and arrested 15 suspects plotting a “horrifying” terrorist act in the country, including public be-headings which they called “demonstration killings” according to the Associated Press. Nine have already been released and six are still detained, the leader of which was already identified.

The New South Wales Police did not say why the nine people have been released or if charges are pending.

One of the arrested suspects, Omarjan Azari, 22, has already been charged with terrorism act for allegedly conspiring with senior Australian ISIS official Mohammad Baryalei to carry out the plan, An ABC TV investigation identified Baryalei, 33, as a key ISIS official and the most senior leader in Australia. The report said he recruited more than half of the 60 Australians now fighting for the extremist group.

ISIS, also known as ISIL, is known for its brutal killings, such as be-headings and mass executions of those who refuse to surrender to their beliefs. World leaders, including Australia, have already pledged to support the military campaign led by the United States against the militants.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed the raids comprised of 800 federal and state police officers and served 25 warrants, the largest in the country’s history and came in response to intelligence reports that an ISIS leader in the Middle East encouraged Australians supporters to execute.

“That’s the intelligence we received,” he told reporters.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”–Australia PM Tony Abbott”]

The exhortations — quite direct exhortations — were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country,

[/quote]

The plan was about to be executed in the next few days and would have involved filming the be-headings and sending the video footage to ISIS’ media unit in Syria, which would then publish it online using social media.

The discovery prompted Australia to heighten its terror level alert for the next 18 months.

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