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Australian teen brothers stopped on way to join Islamic State

Authorities said the boys were radicalised over the Internet and their parents were shocked.

TWO AUSTRALIAN BROTHERS aged 16 and 17 were stopped at Sydney Airport on suspicion that they were young jihadis headed to join the Islamic State group, officials said yesterday.

The young brothers from Sydney raised the suspicions of customs officials as they attempted to depart on Friday afternoon, Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton said.

He did not say where the pair were headed apart from a Middle Eastern “conflict zone.” He also refused to say what was found in the boys’ luggage that raised suspicion and led to the brothers being reported to the airport’s new counter-terrorism unit.

“These two young men aged 16 and 17 are kids, not killers, and they shouldn’t be allowed to go to a foreign land to fight then come back to our land eventually more radicalised,” Dutton told reporters.

The boys’ parents were “as shocked as any of us would be” to discover their sons had attempted to leave the country, Dutton said.

The boys had been radicalised over the Internet, he said. Dutton did not say who had paid the boys’ air fares.

Dutton said charges would be filed against the boys, but did not elaborate. As juvenile suspects, they cannot be identified.

Governments around the world are trying to prevent youth from going to Syrian and Iraq to join the caliphate.

Australians who fight for foreign militant groups face prosecution at home. Under new laws, it became a criminal offence punishable by 10 years in prison for an Australian to enter the Islamic State-held territory without a legitimate reason.

“These were two misguided young Australians, Australian born and bred, who went to school here, grew up here, imbibed our values, and yet it seems they had succumbed to the lure of the death cult and they were on the verge of doing something terrible and dangerous,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters.

“I’m pleased that they’ve been stopped and my message to anyone who is listening to the death cult is block your ears. Don’t even begin to think you can leave” Australia, he added.

The government said last month that at least 90 Australians were fighting with and supporting terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria and have had their passports canceled. More than 20 Australians have been killed.

Read: Families of schoolgirls who joined ISIS in Syria criticise police over letter>

Read: Rape Crisis Centre among dozens of websites hacked by ‘Islamic State’>

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36 Comments
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    Mute Seán Ó Briain
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    Apr 6th 2022, 2:35 PM

    Meanwhile Moscow Mick, Kremlin Clare and Rostov Richard are criticizing putting pressure on Russia to stop this war. Embarrassments the lot of them. Every single Ukrainian could be killed and they’d still be crying ranting like lunatics because some Russian lad can no longer buy Big Macs.

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    Mute Declan Moran
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    Apr 6th 2022, 2:54 PM

    @Seán Ó Briain: they’re a disgrace to this country. J cringe when I think of them representing Ireland in Brussels. What are people thinking when they vote for their likes ? Baffles me

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    Mute Irena Cepaitiene
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    Apr 6th 2022, 3:24 PM

    @Declan Moran: big disgrace. I was mortified when I found out two out of 13 were Irish…I used to think that all those trolls who are flooding social media are actually russian trolls hiding behind Irish names but I started having doubts now.. Sad….:(

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    Mute alan scott
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    Apr 6th 2022, 4:14 PM

    @Declan Moran: any politician that stands by Russia in the west should automatically lose their seat.

    It’s your either with us, or your against us.

    Clare daily and mick Kremlin Wallace should be removed as MEP.

    They disgrace every single one of us.

    They represent Ireland at the EU level,

    What must the other EU member states think of us, when we have these baboons in power?

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    Mute Bri Lyons
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    Apr 6th 2022, 2:51 PM

    Did the PBP numpties applaud this time?

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    Mute Declan Moran
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    Apr 6th 2022, 2:52 PM

    @Bri Lyons: nope. Shower of wasters

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    Mute leartius
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    Apr 6th 2022, 3:32 PM

    Everyone option is important. Some might suggest our 1916 leaders should have followed a neutrality policy and wait for home rule to materialise. Same people might assume that neutrality is in our constitution. Then after reading it want a referendum to validate their point without any embarrassment.
    Feb 24th 2022 was a day that changed europe. From Sweden and Finland to Germany and France. Every European state awoken to war in Europe. For the most outrageous reasons possible. A European state was invaded illegally by Russia who denied it was possible less than 24hrs earlier. As commenters on RT media joked which country President Zelenskyy had fled with suitcases of cash like other americians puppet leaders. Russian leaders joked about sanctions being unless as a war chest of 600 billion was at their disposal. British intelligence believed that the Ukraine’s had about 72 hours before a Russian victory.
    Now after 42 days of war, untold suffering and evidence of civilian torture, Ukraine is still fighting. Sanction are hurting Putin and this oligarchs. People who have little regard of ordinary Russian. Imprisoning Russians who speak out and criminalizing media outlets for doing their jobs.
    Yet People Before Profit members have a right to their option. All war mongers are wrong. It’s is a blinkered option that is unhelpful to Ukraine’s fighting to stop genocide within their borders.

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