Man arrested over Australia New Year's Eve 'terror' plot

Sydney, Nov 28: A man has been arrested over an alleged plot to carry out a terrorist attack in Melbourne on New Year's Eve, police said on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old was detained in a raid on a house in the Melbourne suburb of Werribee yesterday and was being questioned. No charges have yet been laid.

"It will be alleged the man arrested was involved in undertaking preparations for planning a terrorist act in Melbourne on New Year's Eve this year," Victoria state police said. "The operation is ongoing, however, the main lines of enquiry have been completed and at this time police do not anticipate further arrests." Australian officials have grown increasingly concerned over the threat of extremist attacks, raising the national terror alert level in September 2014.

Authorities say 13 attacks have been prevented in the past few years, including an Islamic State-inspired Christmas Day plot targeting central Melbourne last year. In that foiled attack, police said several men planned to use explosives, knives, and guns to target busy locations including Melbourne's Flinders Street train station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral.

Another recently thwarted plot involved an IS-directed attempt to bring down a plane using poisonous gas or a crude bomb disguised as a meat mincer. Despite this, several attacks have taken place, including a cafe siege in Sydney in 2014 where two hostages were killed.

PTI