Following a stabbing in Sydney, seven adolescents are taken into custody

An Australian counter terrorism squad detained seven teens on Wednesday related to a youngster accused with a religiously-motivated terror assault on a Sydney bishop and questioned another five individuals.

Police claimed a team of more than 400 police and security officials were engaged in the operation, which captured accomplices of a 16-year-old kid accused with a terrorist offense for the knifing of Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live-streamed church service on April 15.

The teenagers were detained, according to the police, because they presented a “unacceptable risk” to the public. They will claim the teenagers adhered to an extreme, aggressive, and religiously driven philosophy. The cops are questioning five more persons.

“I am confident that the community is safe, and the steps we have taken today have reduced the possibility of any more harm,” New South Wales state Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson stated at a press conference after the arrests.

In a statement, police stated that the operation was still going on.

Sydney’s generally calm residents are on edge due to the assault on Emmanuel, which occurred only days after a deadly mass stabbing in Bondi, and worries of other attacks or retaliation against the city’s Muslim minority. The city is among the safest in the world, with very little gun and knife crime.

State and federal police worked along with the domestic intelligence agency on the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JTT) operation, which comprised 13 searches in Sydney and the remote town of Goulburn.

According to a statement from the police, a substantial quantity of electronic material was taken during the raids.

In order to combat radicals, Australia top domestic intelligence officer requested on Tuesday that technology firms grant it restricted access to user messages.