(MENAFN- QNA) Police in the Australian city of Sydney have charged two men with planning to carry out an imminent attack.

The pair, aged 24 and 25, were arrested in a raid in the western suburb of Fairfield on Tuesday.

Details of the alleged plot are not know, but police said a hunting knife, an Islamic State (IS) flag and a video describing an attack were seized.

Australia, which has joined the coalition fighting IS in Iraq, raised its domestic terror alert last year.

Sydney is also on alert after the siege at a cafe in the city in December which left two hostages and the gunman dead.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the latest arrests were a sign that the IS "death cult" was "reaching out all around the world, including here in Australia, and regrettably there are people in this country who are susceptible to these incitements to extremism and even terrorism".