An Islamic State sympathizer planned to buy a gun and kill as many revelers as possible on New Year’s Eve in Melbourne’s popular Federation Square, authorities disclosed on Tuesday after foiling the plot. The 20-year-old, born in Australia to Somali parents, was detained in a raid on a house in the Melbourne suburb of Werribee on Monday. “It is a tremendous concern to us that (during) the festive season, when people are out enjoying themselves, that there is a potential plot to commit a terrorist act. ADVERTISEMENTAsked if he had been inspired by 2017’s Christmas Day plot, Patton said how he became radicalized was still being investigated. Australian officials have grown increasingly concerned over the threat of extremist attacks, raising the national terror alert level to “probable” in September 2014.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 28, 2017 00:22 UTC