Australia: Six Dead, Eight Injured In Suspected Terror Attack

Federal authorities say five victims have died from the knife attack in Bondi Junction but they have not been able to identify a key assailant who has been shot dead by NSW Police in the Westfield shopping centre.

In addition to the six dead, another eight people have been injured and one of them is in a critical condition.

While a police search is under way for a possible second assailant, there is no certainty about whether a second person was involved in the attack and early reports suggest only one attacker was involved.

This raises the prospect for authorities that there was no second offender and the threat may have passed.

The Australian Federal Police briefed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a short time ago in Canberra, where he arrived on a scheduled flight after business in Sydney today.

The NSW Police have carriage of the crisis, but the federal authorities believe at this stage that there is no similar incident in any other location that would trigger concerns about coordinated attacks.

A key issue for the authorities is the time required to identify the assailant, who does not appear to be anyone on the federal list of high-risk terror offenders.

NSW Police will provide an update shortly.