Australia: Foiled plot targeted military base

Australian police said today that they have thwarted a terrorist plot in which Somali extremists planned to invade a military base and open fire with automatic weapons until they were shot dead themselves.

Some 400 officers from state and national security services took part in 19 raids on properties in Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, before dawn today, arresting four men and detaining several others for questioning, police said.