Australian police thwart random beheading plot

Police say they have thwarted a plot to carry out random beheadings in Australia by supporters of the radical Islamic State group.

They raided more than a dozen properties across Sydney and were holding six people and have identified the suspected ringleader.

The raids, involving 800 federal and state police officers — the largest in the country’s history — came in response to intelligence that an Islamic State group leader in the Middle East was calling on Australian supporters to kill, according to Prime Minister Tony Abbott.