Heavily-armed tactical officers dressed in camouflage arrested a group of men in southwest Sydney in peak-hour traffic as part of a dramatic counter-terrorism operation.
Images show several officers standing over the group at the intersection of George and Campbell streets, in the suburb of Liverpool, about 5pm on Thursday.
It’s understood the group was travelling to Bondi Beach when their vehicle was rammed and stopped by officers from the Counter Terrorism unit and the Public Order and Riot Squad.
‘Police responded to information received that a violent act was possibly being planned,’ NSW Police said in a statement.
‘Police subsequently intercepted two cars as part of the investigation.
‘As investigations continue, seven men are assisting police with their inquiries.
‘At this point in time, police have not identified any connection to the current police investigation of the Bondi terror attack.’
The operation involved two unmarked police 4WDs that crashed into the front of a white hatchback.
Stunned witnesses reported seeing a police LandCruiser ram a white Hyundai with Victorian number plates, which was carrying the men.
Five men were seen with their hands cuffed behind their backs on the sidewalk. One of the men was taken from the scene on a gurney and a sixth man was arrested by police in a nearby laneway.
Businesses surrounding the incident, including a medical centre, were locked down.
The incident is just days after the Bondi Beach massacre, with Australia still reeling and on high alert.
Officials say alleged gunman Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid, 50, fired shots into a crowd as people screamed and ran for cover on Sunday evening.
Fifteen people were killed in the attack, with 25 others treated in hospital.
The attack has been classified by Australian authorities as a terrorist incident, with investigators treating it as a targeted antisemitic assault.
The massacre unfolded during a public Hanukkah event.
One of the alleged attackers was shot dead by police at the scene. The second was critically wounded and taken into custody.
According to Australian officials, the men appear to have been motivated by Islamic State ideology. Cops also said they found ‘homemade’ Islamic State flags and improvised explosive devices in a car used by the suspects.
The youngest victim of the attack was a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, who was shot in the stomach in front of her little sister.
Hundreds of people gathered to pay their last respects to her as she was laid to rest during an emotional funeral on Thursday.
Yesterday, British-born rabbi Eli Schlanger’s relatives were seen breaking down in tears as they bid an emotional farewell to him. He was praised as being a ‘mentor to his colleagues and friends.’
After the attacks, Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, vowed to introduce harsher gun control laws.
The country already has one of the strictest sets of rules surrounding firearms in the world.
The PM also said there will be new legislation to crack down on hate across the country. Those laws, he said, will target people ‘who spread hate, division, and radicalisation’.
The country’s Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, also said Australia would be ‘shifting the threshold’ on what can be described as hate speech.
Two civilians were praised by Australians and lawmakers for confronting the alleged gunmen during the attack.
One of the men, Ahmed Al-Ahmed, was seen wrestling a rifle from the hands of one of the alleged shooters.
Another was seen kicking a gun away from another alleged attacker before he was set upon by a crowd who mistook him for one of the gunmen.
Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns both hailed civilians who intervened during the attack, describing their actions as heroic and potentially life-saving.
Heroic lifeguards who ran in the direction of gunfire to administer first aid were also praised for their bravery.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Krissy Barrett, confirmed that the surviving alleged shooter had been charged with 59 offences.
She also said further search warrants would be executed within days to help with the investigations.
Meanwhile, the government announced an immediate support package to help victims, their families, and small businesses who have been impacted by the massacre.
According to Albanese’s office, it will provide financial assistance and ‘expanded victim support services’ to recognise the ‘profound emotional, social, and economic toll of the attack’.
