Aussie Police shoot terror suspect

POLICE have shot and wounded a terrorist suspect who allegedly opened fire on them this morning after he disobeyed an order to stop on a Sydney street.

The man had been under surveillance by counter-terrorist police and was carrying a backpack when ordered to stop by officers.

The suspect tried to flee, reportedly firing gunshots at police before they returned fire, hitting him in the chest.

The incident, just before 9am, came just hours after hundreds of police officers raided houses in Sydney and Melbourne, arresting 16 people who were allegedly planning a "catastrophic" terrorist attack in Australia.

The suspect has been taken to hospital and is in a serious but stable condition.

This morning's raids involved around 400 police officers in Australia's two largest cities this morning.

Police and government officials said the raids had "disrupted ... the final stages of a large-scale terrorist attack".