Australia Foils Major Terror Attack

Australian Federal Police have made a series of arrests following overnight raids, which they believe disrupted what would've been a "catastrophic" terrorist attack.  The intended targets are not known.

From Reuters:

Australian authorities believe they have foiled a major terrorist attack, arresting 15 people on Tuesday during raids in the country's two biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne.
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"We believe ... we've disrupted a large-scale operation which, had it been allowed to go through to fruition, we certainly believe would have been catastrophic," New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney [pictured] told Australian television.
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Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil. The country has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

More from CNN International:

Police declined to give details of the likely target of the attack, but Victoria State Police Chief Christine Nixon said that next year's Commonwealth Games, to be staged in Melbourne, were not a target, AP reports.

"It's the largest operation of counterterrorism that's ever been conducted in this country and its taken us a long period of time," Nixon told the ABC.

Update: Guardian Unlimited reports the alleged plan was for a chemical attack, possibly intended for a railway station in Sydney or Melbourne.

It also points out the recent political developments that expanded the counterterror purview of Australian authorities.

Last week Mr Howard's Liberal-National coalition government passed an urgent amendment to anti-terrorism laws making it easier for police to arrest suspects believed to be in the early stages of planning an attack, even if no specific target for the attack is known.

The legislation prompted speculation that police would move against suspects in Sydney and Melbourne who were understood to have carried out surveillance on targets such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbour bridge, and railway stations and the stock exchange in Melbourne.

Opposition parties - Labour, the Democrats and the Greens - have accused the government of playing politics with national security and trying to scare Australians.
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[The individuals arrested] included Abu Bakr, also known as Abdul Nacer Benbrika. ... [Bakr] made headlines last August when he stated publicly in an interview his support for Osama bin Laden. At the time, he denied being involved in any terrorist activities but told Australia's ABC Radio that he was a supporter of the al-Qaida leader.