Police in Sydney have charged five teenagers, aged 14 to 17, with various crimes linked to violent extremist beliefs following an investigation initiated by the stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church, authorities reported on Thursday.
The arrests occurred across southwest Sydney during a significant operation by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which consists of federal and state police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and the New South Wales Crime Commission.
Three of the teenagers, two aged 16 and one aged 17, face charges of conspiracy to commit or planning a terrorist act.
The 17-year-old is additionally accused of carrying a knife in public. Another two teens, aged 14 and 17, have been charged with possessing or controlling online violent extremist material.
All five are being held in police custody and were expected to appear in a juvenile court on Thursday.
Meanwhile, two other youths arrested in the operation have not been charged, and five other individuals, including three juveniles and two adults, are being questioned but are not currently detained.
This extensive law enforcement effort involved over 400 officers and included the execution of 13 search warrants in southwest Sydney and one in Goulburn, located about 120 miles south of Sydney.
According to New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson, the detained individuals are believed to adhere to a violent extremist ideology with religious motivations.
One of the teens involved is alleged to have stabbed an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest during a church service on April 15, which was being streamed online.
He has been charged with committing a terrorist act and faces life imprisonment if convicted. Both clerics survived the assault.
This stabbing incident is among the recent violent events in Sydney, including another attack three days prior, where a 40-year-old man with a history of mental illness fatally stabbed six people and wounded others at a shopping mall before being shot by police.
Authorities have reassured the public that there is no imminent threat to upcoming Anzac Day events, a national day of remembrance.
While past Anzac Days have seen foiled attempts at mass-casualty attacks, current commemorations are expected to proceed safely.
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the landing of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, during World War I.
