4 arrested in Australia terror probe

Four people were arrested in Australia on Wednesday over the terror-linked murder of a police employee after coordinated raids by more than 200 officers on properties across Sydney.

Those seized in the dawn operation were aged between 16 and 22 and face questioning over Friday's killing of Curtis Cheng outside New South Wales state police headquarters in the city's west.

Farhad Jabar, 15, who authorities said was born in Iran of Iraqi and Kurdish background and had no previous criminal history, shot the 58-year-old in the back of the head while reportedly shouting religious slogans.

The teenager was gunned down in an exchange of fire with police special constables soon after.

Reports said the homes of three of the men arrested on Wednesday were previously targeted in Australia's biggest counter-terrorism raids a year ago.

New South Wales Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn confirmed some of those detained were known to police but declined to elaborate on their connection to Jabar.

"Time will clearly tell about what their associations may have been leading up to the events on Friday," she said, adding that Jabar had not been on their radar.

"We have a great deal of information that we have to actually go through. Whether or not they inspired it, I don't know at this particular point in time."

Asked if police were working under the assumption that the teenager did not act alone, she replied: "We definitely have our suspicion he did not act alone."

On Tuesday, a student who attended the same school as Jabar was arrested and charged over alleged posts on social media threatening police, with his home searched and two laptops seized.

He was also charged with assaulting and intimidating police and resisting arrest when he was stopped on his way to Arthur Phillip High School, close to where the shooting took place.

The 17-year-old, who has not been named, was given strict conditional bail and will face a children's court on November 9.

Earlier police said that five suspects had been arrested, but later changed the number to four.

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