Australian police: Two men planned "imminent" IS-linked terror attack

SYDNEY, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Australian police said they narrowly averted an Islamic State-linked terrorist plot to kill or maim someone in a knife attack.

Anti-terror police said the two men, age 24 and 25, were arrested at a home in a Sydney suburb the same day they planned to carry out the attack. Police said they found a homemade IS flag, a machete, a hunting knife and a video with one of the men making threats. Both men were charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act.

New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said she did not know if the men planned a beheading and would not explain what was in the video, adding the plot was "consistent with the IS messaging".

"We believe that the men were potentially going to harm somebody, maybe even kill somebody, and potentially using one of the items that we ... recovered yesterday - potentially a knife," she said.

She added, "the two men were well advanced in their preparations."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott told parliament the men planned the attack immediately.

"Police found a large ISIL or Daesh flag, a machete, a hunting knife and a video of a recording of one suspect kneeling in front of the ISIL flag with the two knives while making a statement in Arabic," he said.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said the area avoided a potentially "catastrophic" terrorist attack.

"It was beyond disturbing, what was planned," he said.

Australia has been on heightened alert since December, when two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege.