24 apr 2024 om 10:06 Update: 1 uur geleden
Australian police have arrested seven people in a major anti-terrorist operation. They are linked to the knife attack on an Assyrian bishop in Sydney a week and a half ago. The suspects are fifteen to seventeen years old.
The seven people who were arrested adhere to a “religiously motivated extremist ideology”, according to Australian police. According to the police, they were part of a broader network. Four hundred police officers were deployed for the operation.
Police have been monitoring the group “intensely,” police officer Dave Hudson said at a news conference. “Their behavior under surveillance gave reason to believe that we would not be able to stop them if they struck.” The police suspected that they wanted to carry out an attack soon and therefore intervened.
The stabbing happened a week and a half ago during a mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church, which was broadcast live. Footage showed a person dressed in black stabbing a bishop several times.
The bishop belongs to a very conservative Assyrian religious community. When churchgoers intervened, several people were injured.
After “examining all the evidence”, police concluded that the perpetrator was trying to “intimidate as large an audience as possible”. According to the police, this constitutes terrorism.
In addition to the bishop, another clergyman and two more people were injured. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
Tags: people arrested Australian terror investigation knife attack
