Australian police detains 4 for plotting suicide attack at army base

The four were arrested during dawn raids on 19 properties across the southern city of Melbourne after a seven-month investigation involving Australia's national security agency ASIO. A fifth man, in custody on other matters, was also being questioned.

The four men, aged between 22 and 26, were Australian citizens from Somali and Lebanese backgrounds, police said.

Police said they had links to al Shabaab, a militant Islamist group that controls much of lawless Somalia. Analysts say the group, which has links to al Qaeda, has been recruiting from among Somalia's vast diaspora.

The first to appear in court, named as Nayef el Sayed, was formally charged with conspiring to attack an army base.