Members of the Australian police mission walk to a bus after arriving at Kharkiv airport, before proceeding to the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 July 26, 2014. Nearly 300 people, 193 of them Dutch citizens, were killed when the Malaysia Airl
Members of the Australian police mission walk to a bus after arriving at Kharkiv airport, before proceeding to the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 July 26, 2014. Nearly 300 people, 193 of them Dutch citizens, were killed when the Malaysia Airlines plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down in eastern Ukraine, where separatists are battling government forces, on July 17. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS DISASTER TRANSPORT) REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

The Australian Federal Police and Australian Security and Intelligence Office conducted several anti-terrorism raids in Sydney and Brisbane. According to reports, about 600 officers with armoured vehicles arrested several people in separate pre-dawn raids in NSW and Brisbane.

The recent raids are said to be the largest in Australian history following the report of senior officers who revealed a planned terrorist attack was imminent. Intelligence reports said a suspected terrorist cell is planning a kidnapping and beheading. The act of murder will be recorded and posted on social media for the public to see.

Reports also suggested that the terrorist group plans to target a tourist. At least 15 people have been arrested during the anti-terror raids. One suspect has been charged with a terrorism-related offence.

AFP Acting Commissioner Andre Colvin said the anti-terror operation known as the Operation Hammerhead began earlier in the year. He revealed that "experts" had determined it was time for the authorities to move. NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione believes the suspected terror cell will target any random citizen on the streets of Sydney. He said there is an intent to "commit serious violence" in public.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Junaid Thorne, a radical Islamic preacher and self-proclaimed sheikh, slammed the anti-terror raids as "attacks on Islam and Muslims." According to the Daily Telegraph, the 25-year-old preacher asked Allah to "destroy those who plot against us."

As he was conducting a spiritual healing session at the Al-Risalah Islamic Centre in Sydney, he said the terror raids in Australia as more than any sane person can bear. He described life in Australia as comparable to that of Arab countries in medieval times. Thorne blasted intelligence agencies for invading the private lives of Muslims.

He declared that the Australian government was "clearly attacking Islam and Muslims." The preacher, who has ties with the extremist group Millatu Ibrahim, said the government was implementing "institutional terrorism."

Reports said the anti-terror raids were pre-emptive and believed to be linked to a man from Brisbane who was arrested for suspected terrorism. Australian authorities believe the terror cell may be close to an attack in the country.

RELATED STORIES