Teenagers With Reported IS Links Arrested Carrying Bayonets in Sydney's West

Two teenagers with reported links to Islamic state were arrested carrying bayonet blades in Sydney’s west on October 12, the day before they were due to sit their HSC exams. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the two boys, aged 16, were arrested by counter-terrorist units as they walked towards a prayer hall in Bankstown.During an October 13 media conference, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said the boys had been under police surveillance before the incident, and that they had bought the blades at a gun store hours before they were arrested. The NSW Police said they feared an attack was “imminent”, but refuted reports that the two boys were about to attack a police station or behead an innocent person.
A number of terrorism-related charges were laid out against the boys including the planning and preparation of a terrorist act, which carries a possible life sentence. Credit: Anonymous