SYDNEY: The Australian government will introduce tough new legislation in parliament next week to tackle terrorism, reports said on Saturday, in the aftermath of the biggest crackdown in the country’s history.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will seek sweeping counter-terror powers when the proposals go before the house on Wednesday, NewsCorp Australia reported.

Thursday’s unprecedented raids in Sydney and Brisbane had foiled a plot by Islamic State jihadists to carry out gruesome “demonstration executions” which could have taken place within days, Abbott said.

Security has also been stepped up in the capital Canberra, and at military bases, airports and sporting events after parliament and government officials had been mentioned as potential targets in “chatter” between extremist networks in the Middle East and Australia.

Fifteen people were arrested when hundreds of police officers raided dozens of homes in Sydney and Brisbane on Thursday, but only one person remained in custody on Saturday, officials said.

Omarjan Azari, 22, was charged with planning a terrorist act that prosecutors said was intended to “shock, horrify and terrify” the community and involved the “random selection of persons to rather gruesomely execute” on camera.

Federal police had for the first time used preventive detention orders to hold three of the 15 without charge, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The men were released on Friday.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2014