Australia foils terrorist attack,arrests 17

SYDNEY, Tuesday (Reuters) Australian authorities arrested 17 people on Tuesday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, raiding homes in Melbourne and Sydney less than a week after parliament passed tougher anti-terror laws.

One man was shot in the Sydney raids and the police bomb squad was examining a backpack at the scene. Outspoken Muslim cleric Abu Bakr, who has voiced support for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was among those arrested in Melbourne.

Prime Minister John Howard last week said Australia received intelligence about a "terrorist threat" and amended anti-terror laws making it easier for police to arrest suspects.

"Intelligence was received that a group was making arrangements to stockpile chemicals and other materials capable of making explosives," New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma told a news conference in Sydney.

"Police believe that the group was planning a terrorist attack in Australia," Iemma said.

Victorian state Police Commissioner Christine Nixon said the group did not have a target and specifically ruled out the Commonwealth Games, which are due to be held in Melbourne in March and opened by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

"But we had sufficient evidence these people were planning a significant attack," Nixon told reporters.

Police said they had seized chemicals which if combined would be "volatile", firearms, computers, travel documents and backpacks.Australian media last week reported that possible targets under police surveillance were the Sydney Opera House, harbour bridge, two Sydney oil refineries, the Australian stock exchange in Melbourne and Melbourne's main rail station.

Four Australians are awaiting trial in Sydney and Melbourne on terror charges, linked to supporting and training with banned groups such as al Qaeda. Police raided 23 houses in Sydney and Melbourne early on Tuesday as part of the country's largest ever counter-terrorism operation involving hundreds of police, following a 16-month investigation.

"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 state Police Commissioner Ken Moroney told Australian television. Several searches were still under way, police told Reuters.

Police said eight people were arrested in Sydney and nine in Melbourne. Those arrested have been charged with offences including acts in preparation of a terrorist attack, being a member of a terrorist group and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act. Muslim cleric Abu Bakr was one of nine men who appeared in a Melbourne court to face charges.

The court was told Bakr was the spiritual leader of the group which had engaged in military-like training and were committed to a "violent jihad" in Australia.