2 Sydney Teens Charged With Planning Islamic State Attack

SYDNEY (AP) —

Two 16-year-old Australian boys arrested in Sydney after each bought a knife were charged on Thursday with planning a terrorist attack on behalf of the extremist Islamic State group, police said.

The two were arrested by the federal-state Joint Counter-Terrorism Team in western suburban Bankstown on Wednesday as Australia marked the 14th anniversary of terrorist bombings in Indonesia that killed 202, including 88 Australians, New South Wales state Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said.

Burn said police had been concerned about the pair for some time and that the boys had potentially been radicalized by peers.

The pair had bought “two bayonet-type knives” from a gun shop in a Sydney suburb, then caught a bus to the spot where they were arrested, Burn said. Police did not know their intended target, but an attack was imminent, she said.

The boys were questioned by police overnight and were charged early Thursday with preparing to commit a terrorist act and with membership of a terrorist organization, namely the Islamic State group. They faced a potential life sentence if convicted.

State police headquarters in western Sydney was renamed the Curtis Cheng Center two weeks ago in honor of a civilian employee who was fatally shot by a 15-year-old terrorist as he left the building a year ago.

“The events of yesterday are extremely sobering for us, particularly given the age of these individuals,” Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan told reporters.

“The threat is real, it’s enduring, it’s still happening and the age of these two individuals is extremely concerning to us,” he added.

Police say the arrests marked the 11th imminent terrorist attack that they have prevented in Australia since the terror threat was increased in September 2014. There have been four terrorist attacks in Australia in that time.

The bombings on the Indonesian resort Island of Bali on Oct. 12, 2002, were Australia’s heaviest loss from a terrorist attack.

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