Australian counterterrorism police swoop on suspects' homes (archive)
Australian counterterrorism police swoop on suspects' homes (archive)Reuters

Two men have been arrested after counter-terrorism raids in Sydney, Australian officials said Saturday, according to AFP.

Officers arrested one man on Friday following raids at four properties in Sydney's southwest that police said were "part of a long-running investigation and not as a result of any specific terrorism threat", the report said.

The 33-year-old was arrested and charged with acquiring and possessing ammunition illegally, police said.

The investigation, which has been running for more than a year, is looking into alleged financial and other support for foreign fighters in conflicts including those in Syria and Iraq.

Police said the raids were not connected to the 16-hour standoff at a Sydney cafe in mid-December that left the lone gunman, self-styled Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis, and two hostages dead.

The raids follow large-scale counter-terrorism raids across the country in September that came as Australia upgraded its terror threat to high on growing concern about militants returning from conflicts in the Middle East.

Separately, a 21-year-old man was arrested Friday on warrants related to the possession of unauthorized and unregistered firearms and ammunition found in a separate raid last month.

His arrest came as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism operation into people suspected of involvement in domestic terrorist acts, fighting in Syria and Iraq and the funding of terror groups, police said.

Both men's cases were adjourned on Saturday until next week and lawyer Adam Houda, who is representing both men, stressed that his clients were not facing terror charges.

The Australian government has said that more than 70 Australians are currently fighting for Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria, with at least 20 believed to have died.

ISIS terrorism has recently been on the rise in Australia, with police several months ago arresting 15 terror suspects of an ISIS cell that was planning to behead a random member of the public in a campaign of terror.