Police Foil Teenagers' 'Attack' on School in Australia


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Two teenagers have been charged with planning an attack at a school in Australia using guns and explosives in an act police Wednesday (Nov 29) alleged was designed to harm "a large number of people".

The plot targeting the school in South Australia's River land region came to the attention of authorities earlier this month with the two young men arrested soon after, AFP reported.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said they were accused of planning "an attack at a school involving the use of firearms and explosives which could have led to multiple deaths".

"Two teenage boys - aged 16 and 18 - are in custody. The younger has been charged with a count of solicit to murder, while the older teenager has been charged with aggravated counts of threatening to kill," he said.

"There is no evidence to show that any other person was linked with this matter, nor did the two individuals have possession of firearms."

The alleged plot was foiled a day after police in Melbourne arrested a 20-year-old man who they claimed was planning to buy a gun and kill as many revelers as possible on New Year's Eve in the city.

Police said that man, Ali Ali, was a Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) sympathizer, but there was no mention of any extremist group link to the teenagers in South Australia.