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Law enforcement in Australia is now tamping up the security at all major airports across the land down under after police foiled a terrorist plot to "bring down" a plane.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AAP: PM Malcolm Turnbull says counter-terrorism agencies have foiled a plot to "bring down" a plane in an attack in Australia <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIVEaaNews?src=hash">#FIVEaaNews</a></p>— Matthew Pantelis (@MatthewPantelis) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewPantelis/status/891435439009087488">July 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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International intelligence agencies cooperated in the investigation which now has resulted in four men being detained in custody.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PM <a href="https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm">@TurnbullMalcolm</a> says counter-terrorism agencies have foiled a plot to "bring down" a plane in an attack in Australia.</p>— Michelle Stephenson (@MishStephenson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MishStephenson/status/891418917339512833">July 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Australian Government officials say that heavily armed counter-terrorism agents raided four separate Sydney, Australia properties over the terror plot to cause a plane to crash.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Australia thwarts 'Islamic-inspired' plane attack plot <a href="https://t.co/xZ4dGghBr4">https://t.co/xZ4dGghBr4</a> <a href="https://t.co/CgLg0QFy57">pic.twitter.com/CgLg0QFy57</a></p>— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/891465882031009794">July 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said in a news conference that increased security measures have been placed on all Australian airports after the major preventative takedown.
"I can report last night that there has been a major joint counter-terrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane," the Australian leader told reporters.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PM Turnbull says four people have been arrested as part of counter-terrorism raids in Sydney, says plot was to bring down a plane. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash">#auspol</a></p>— Henry Belot (@Henry_Belot) <a href="https://twitter.com/Henry_Belot/status/891413860770381824">July 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Heightened security measures are now in place in both domestic and international terminals in every airport in the nation, according to Prime Minister Turnbull’s address.
The Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Andrew Colvin, said that his officers learned of information that suggested people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an "improvised device".
Commissioner Colvin said that the four men who are now in custody had not been charged by police formally as of yet but it's likely interrogations are commencing as this article is being written.
Australian Police also have information that leads them to believe the attack intended to target the Australian aviation industry at a major airport.
Several agencies including the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police and the domestic spy agency ASIO, all cooperated in a join operation to carry out multiple anti-terror raids yesterday afternoon in Surry Hills, Lakemba, Wiley Park, and Punchbowl, Australia.
The Government Says that least 40 riots squad officers stormed a Surry Hills terrace residence where the explosives team found a suspicious device, believed to be components for an “Improvised Explosive Device”, commonly referred to as an IED.
A neighbor who lives close to the Cleveland Street residence which was raised in Surry Hills described the occupants of the home as "perfectly nice and normal people", adding that they're shocked to find out they lived so close to terrorists.
"We knew them to say hello to and they seemed nice," said one neighbor, who didn't want to be identified in fears for her safety, said of the suspects.
Another neighbor said that an elderly couple lived in the home which was raided and that they had several adult children. One neighbor came home while the raid was ongoing and said that there were "heaps" of police at the scene.
Australian Justice Minister, Michael Keenan, said this was the 13th conspiracy thwarted by agents since the terror threat level was raised to its current level of "probable" in 2014, where it has remained ever since.
Since the time of the elevation to “probable”, a total of 70 alleged terrorists have faced charges as a result of 31 separate operations across the nation.
"The primary threat to Australia still remains lone actors," Justice Minister Keenan said, adding that there are those plotting still to destroy the freedoms of Australia.
He went on to say, "But the events overnight remind us that there is still the ability for people to have sophisticated plots and sophisticated attacks remain a real threat.”
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