Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Sunday that police conducted a counter-terror operation "to disrupt a plot to bring down an airplane," and announced increased security at the nation's airports.
"The operation is continuing. At this stage four people have been arrested and a considerable amount of material has been seized by police," Turnbull said in an address at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning local time (5:30 p.m. Saturday ET).
According to Covlin, the plot included the potential use of "an improvised device" and the "aviation industry was possibly the target of the attack."
"We believe it's Islamic-inspired terrorism," Colvin said when asked if the ISIS group was behind the plot.
Australian Federal Police said the multiple searches were conducted in the Sydney suburbs of Lakemba, Surry Hills, Wiley Park and Punchbowl. The searches were expected to continue for "many hours and days," according to Colvin.
