Australian police execute search warrants as part of a ‘major operation’ over church stabbings

SYDNEY (AP) — Detectives and secret service agents investigating the stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church executed search warrants in the city on Wednesday as part of a major operation, officials said.

The Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which incorporates federal and state police as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, said in a statement there is no current threat to public safety.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the operation was related to a knife attack in a Sydney church on April 15 in which an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest were injured.

“There is a major operation underway in Sydney,” Kershaw told the National Press Club of Australia.

“We have to make unfortunately lawful interventions to prevent any further planning or attack on our communities,” Kershaw added.

A 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing the two clerics was charged on Friday with terrorism offenses.

The teen allegedly spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad being insulted after he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Rev. Isaac Royel in the Christ the Good Shepherd Church as a service was being streamed online.

Police said more details on Wednesday’s operation would be released later in the day. They have not said how many warrants had been executed or where in Sydney had been searched.

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