THREE men who allegedly plotted “chilling” terror attacks in Melbourne were charged early yesterday, less than two weeks after a stabbing rampage inspired by Islamic State left two dead in Australia’s second city, police said.

The trio, all Australian nationals of Turkish descent, were detained by counterterror police in overnight raids as they escalated preparations to attack crowded areas of Melbourne, according to police.

The three, two brothers aged 31 and 26 and a 21-year-old, were later charged with planning a terrorist action, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, officials said.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the men were “certainly inspired by ISIS,” the Islamic State group, but had no known links to a specific organization. They had been under investigation since March but had become “more energized” since the IS-inspired stabbing attack in Melbourne on Nov. 9, he said.

The men had sought to purchase semi-automatic .22 calibre rifles and police were concerned they could target upcoming Christmas season events that will see huge crowds gathering in the city.

“There was a view towards a crowded place, a place where maximum people would be attending, to be able to kill, we allege, as maximum an amount of people as possible,” Ashton told reporters.

The group had not yet picked a specific target or time for the attack, and Ashton added that police were confident yesterday’s arrests had “neutralized any threat to the... community from this group.”

In the Nov. 9 attack, a Somali-born Australian, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, stabbed and killed one man and wounded two others in a central shopping area before being shot dead by police.

Coincidentally, the victim of that attack, Sisto Malaspina, 74, was honored by a state funeral in Melbourne yesterday.

Hundreds of Melbournians and dignitaries attended a service at Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral to bid farewell to Malaspina, the beloved owner of a local Italian cafe and a well-known figure on the city’s vibrant restaurant scene.

The three arrested men were identified by local media as Ertunc and Samed Eriklioglu, aged 31 and 26 respectively, and Hanifi Halis, 21. Court officials could not immediately confirm their identities.

(SD-Agencies)