Australian police have arrested several people in the southern city of Melbourne on suspicion of planning to carry out a terror attack, police said in a statement on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
"Police believe members of a Melbourne-based group have been undertaking planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Australia and allegedly involved in hostilities in Somalia," the statement said.
More than 400 police officers were involved in the dawn raid and executed 19 search warrants across Melbourne, the early morning raid, the statement added.
Earlier, The Australian newspaper said in an unsourced report that authorities believe the group was at an advanced stage of preparing to storm an Australian army base using automatic weapons.
The plot was aimed at punishing Australia's military involvement for its involvement in Muslim countries, the paper said.
"It is understood the men plan to kill as many soldiers as possible before they are themselves killed," the report added.
The cell is believed to number 18, including Australian nationals of Somalian and Lebanese descent, the paper added.