Aussie cops foil holiday terror plot

Five men 'inspired by Islamic State group' planned series of Christmas Day attacks

Police in Australia have detained five men suspected of planning a series of Christmas Day attacks using knives, guns and explosives in the heart of the country's second-largest city, officials said on Friday.

According to Victoria state police chief commissioner Graham Ashton, the suspects "were inspired by the Islamic State group" and planned attacks on Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street train station, Federation Square, a fashionable bar and restaurant precinct, and St. Paul's Cathedral, an Anglican church,