Terrorist Group Arrested In Australia Planned to Attack ADF Military Base

The Australian authorities sure have been good over the past few years in breaking up these terror plots.  Personally I am surprised that one of these Al Qaeda off shoots hasn’t been able to launch an attack in Australia yet:

Four suspects accused of planning to carry out a terrorist attack on a military base in Australia were arrested in early morning busts across Melbourne on Tuesday, authorities said.

Police executed 19 search warrants in nine Melbourne neighborhoods as part of the investigation into the group, which is suspected of having ties to Al-Shabaab, a Somali insurgent group with ties to al Qaeda, authorities said.

The suspects planned to storm the Australian base with automatic weapons and carry out a “sustained attack on military personnel until they themselves were killed,” said Tony Negus, deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.

Details about the suspects began to emerge Tuesday afternoon, with police confirming that a 25-year-old man from Glenroy was charged with conspiring to plan a terrorist act. He was expected to appear in court later in the day, authorities said.

A fifth man, a 33-year-old already in custody on other matters, was being interviewed, police said.

Some 400 officers took part in the pre-dawn raids, foiling the alleged terror plot, police said. Investigators have been looking into the group for more than six months, officials said.  [CNN]

Kudos to the Australian authorities for a job well done.