The head of Australia's public broadcaster says she has "grave concern" about a police raid on the corporation's headquarters in connection with a 2017 story based on leaked documents that indicated the country's military forces were being investigated for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. chairwoman Ita Buttrose said on Friday the raid in Sydney on Wednesday was "clearly designed to intimidate."

Buttrose said she had a "frank conversation" with a government minister and that: "As ABC chair, I will fight any attempts to muzzle the national broadcaster."

The Sydney raid came a day after federal police searched the Canberra home of a News Corp. journalist over a 2018 story detailing an alleged government proposal to spy on Australians.

ABC is a client of The Associated Press.