Australian Federal Police and local officers conducted a massive counter terrorism operation this morning, with raids in Sydney and Brisbane netting more than a dozen suspects.  ABC is reporting that a terrorist cell allegedly planned to behead a member of the public in Sydney.

Published reports say court documents are expected to reveal that the terrorists planned to abduct a random member of the public in Sydney and behead them under the flag of Islamic State, the terrorist group that captured huge swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.  The act would then be uploaded to social media.

So far, one person has been charged with serious terrorist offenses out of 15 people detained, but those numbers are going to change as the story develops.  In all, 25 warrants were carried out, involving hundreds of officers and investigators – the largest sweep in Australia’s history.

The Sydney raids took place in Beecroft, Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill, and Regents Park.

Police also acted on search warrants in Brisbane’s south, including Upper Mount Gravatt East, Logan, and Underwood.  The latter town is where cops raided a Muslim bookstore and arrested two men – one the brother of the first Australian believed to have carried out a suicide bombing in Syria; and the other an allegedly recruiting for Islamic State.