A series of anti-terror raids across Sydney and Brisbane were sparked by a senior Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant ordering "demonstration killings" in Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday.
"The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in (ISIS) to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country," he said.
"So this is not just suspicion, this is intent and that's why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have."
A pre-dawn operation by more than 800 officers, described as the largest in Australian history, detained 15 people.
A court official and police said a Sydney man had appeared in court after the raids and been charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and would remain in custody until a hearing in November.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said court documents were expected to reveal that the plan involved snatching a random member of the public in Sydney, draping them in an ISIS flag and beheading them on camera.
"It's important our police and security organizations be one step ahead of them and this morning they were," Abbott said.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said he had ordered an increased police presence onto the streets after the raids to prevent "troublemakers" taking advantage of heightened tensions.
The raid occurred days after Australia raised its national terror threat level to "high" for the first time. The heightened alert cited the likelihood of attacks by Australians radicalized in Iraq or Syria.
Up to 160 Australians have either been involved in the fighting in the Middle East or actively supporting it, officials said. At least 20 are believed to have returned to Australia and pose a national security risk, the head of Australia's spy agency said when raising the threat level last week.
Australia had been at the "medium" alert level since a four-tier system was introduced in 2003. A "high" alert level is used when officials believe an attack is likely, while a "severe" level means they believe an attack is imminent or has occurred.
Australia has pledged 600 troops to back a US-led coalition of countries intervening militarily in Iraq and Syria against ISIS, which plans on operating in Syria without its government's consent.
(AFP, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)
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