Australian cops foil terror plot to bring down airplane

Australian authorities have arrested four men as they foiled an Islamist-inspired terrorist plot to bring down an airplane.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the development at a news conference Sydney on Sunday, reports the ABC news.

The arrest was made on Saturday after the authorities seized material that could be used to make an improvised bomb, which the perpetrators intending to smuggle onto a plane in order to blow it up.

Police said it was an Islamist-inspired plot, but they did not link the plan to a specific terrorist group.

Meanwhile, Turnbull said the 'major counter-terrorism operation' was ongoing.

The prime minister said extra security measures have been in place at Sydney Airport since Thursday and have since been put in place at the country's other major airports.

Transport security officials advised travelers to get to their airports two hours before their scheduled flight departures.

Last month, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack at a suburban Melbourne apartment building where one man was killed and three police officers were wounded.

IMAGE: Australian Federal Police officers talk with passengers near the check-in counters at the Sydney Airport Domestic terminal in Australia. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters