An Australian teenager was arrested and charged with plotting a terror attack on the nation's national day of remembrance. It is the second year in a row that the officials say they have intercepted an attack linked to the holiday.
The 16-year-old boy was arrested by the Australian counter-terrorism authorities from his western Sydney residence on Sunday, just hours before the Australians gathered to mark Anzac Day which commemorates the first major battle involving Australian and New Zealand forces during World War I.
"The police believe that at this stage the boy was acting alone and previously he had been on authorities radar", said New South Wales Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione. The police had searched the teen's home, but the official did not disclose anything about it.
According to court documents, police accused the boy of trying to get a gun over the weekend as part of the alleged plot. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Police reports say that five teenagers were arrested in Melbourne last year, along with a 14-year-old boy in Britain, for allegedly planning an Islamic State group-inspired terror attack at similar events.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said, "Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern that we have been observing, where younger and younger people are targeted and incited to go and commit an act of terror".
The Australian government had raised the country's terror threat level in 2014 due to a number of domestic threats posed by the supporters of different Islamic State group. Since then police have conducted several raids at multiple plots in Australia which includes an alleged plan to attack government buildings and naval base in Sydney.
