Roundup: Australian terror suspects released without charge, threat of terror remains high

Three of the four men arrested in Wednesday's anti-terror raids in western Sydney have been released though police believe 15-year-old Farhad Jabar who killed police employee Curtis Cheng in an act of terror did not act alone.

Cheng's murder last Friday has been declared by police to be politically motivated and hence an act of terrorism while an 18- year old man allegedly connected to the incident remains in custody, New South Wales (NSW) police confirmed on Thursday.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said it is frustrating that the men have been released, however the state's law is clear on when suspects can be remanded.

"Only when we have sufficient evidence that can put us in a position to charge an offender with an offense (and) put them before a court, that we can hold them," Scipione said.

"We've taken a lot of materials during the course of these searches and that's going to take us a long time to go through.

"It's incredibly frustrating to us."

More than 200 police officers and counter-terrorism authorities raided four properties across western Sydney on Wednesday morning, detaining four suspects for questioning aged between 16 and 22 in connection with Cheng's murder.

Five people were targeted in the raids however the fifth man, 24, was not detained as part of the counter-terrorism operation but as result of an outstanding warrant for identity and fraud matters, the Australian Federal Police said.

Fairfax Media reported on Thursday that Jabar, 15-year-old Iranian born gunman, of Iraqi-Kurd decent, was recruited by the group to carry out the "act of terror" because they feared they were under too much surveillance form Australian authorities.

"Some of them might have been wanting to do an attack but were concerned. They've managed to radicalize a poor vulnerable person to do it instead," a police source told Fairfax Media. "It's almost like they've groomed him like paedophiles to do something for them."

The men were targeted in Australia's largest anti-terror raids in September 2014 across Sydney and southeast Queensland, however were released without charge.

The 2014 raids were sparked by a phone call to Omarjan Azari - who remains in jail on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder - in which it is alleged Australia's most senior Islamic State lieutenant, Mohammad Ali Baryalei, directed him to kill a random Australian.

Eleven of the 15 people targeted in the raids were charged as part of a group allegedly sympathetic to Islamic State.

Azari, Baryalei - who has subsequently been killed in Syria - and other members of the group involved in both raids were known to congregate at the Parramatta Mosque.

Footage from the Parramatta Mosque - now in the hands of police- allegedly shows several men meeting Jabar on Friday, just hours before he shot and killed Cheng in an act of terror, Fairfax Media reported.

It is believed Jabar - who was described as a quite, cheerful student who vigilantly attended mosque - was drawn into the extremist circles by his 16-year-old classmate at the Arthur Phillip High School.

The high school is 300 meters from where Cheng was shot outside of the Parramatta Police station.

Australian conservative social commentators have been describing the Arthur Phillip High School and surrounding area as a hot-bed for extremism.

Sarkis Achmar, a Western Sydney community development worker, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the issue of youth radicalization in the area had sat under the radar for more than a decade.

Achmar argued young people have become more isolated, allowing extremist groups to "fill the void" in young people who always sought a sense of belonging.

"When somebody encapsulates that sense of 'you belong with us, we've got your back, whatever you need, let's hang out, let's have a laugh,' they get drawn to that because they're not getting it anywhere else," Achmar said.

News Corp reported a Muslim prayer group had to be suspended by the school's principal, Lynn Goodwin, for "disruptive" behavior, where some students were thought to have been preaching extremism.

The revelation preceded the release of an audit of prayer groups in the state's public schools ordered by NSW Premier Mike Baird after media reports in July that a student at the Epping Boys High School in the north of Sydney may have preached extremist interpretations of Islam.

Baird on Wednesday asked the NSW Department of Education to expedite its work in de-radicalization programs that have been in the formulating stages for some months.

"We need to provide more support, undoubtedly into our schools to deal with what is a new threat," Baird said. "This threat, that is new here, is new across the world."

Though there had been some isolated incidents in the past, Baird said the radicalization of school children was not widespread.

"Certainly my strong assurance to the people of NSW is that our schools are safe," Baird said.

Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that Jabar was not on Australian authorities' radar and "not somebody we would have assessed as a threat."

"It's difficult because we don't really know the motivation of the 15-year-old," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn told reporters on Wednesday.

Asked if the teenager should have been on the radar of Australia's counter-terrorism authorities, Burn said "time will clearly tell."

Burn said it is an unfortunately reality that the type of terrorist attack that killed Cheng would continue to be launched on Australian soil.

Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan said the threat of a terrorist attack in Australia remains high and that authorities were at an unprecedented time of operational tempo.

"That's not going to change in the foreseeable future," Gaughan said.

Authorities are still investing how Jabar came into possession of a handgun and would not confirm reports it was supplied by a Middle Eastern crime gang operating in the west of Sydney. Endi