Australia prevents 3rd teen from joining Mideast militants

Australia has prevented a third teenager from flying out to fight in the Middle East, a minister said Wednesday, as Western countries battle to stop the flow of youngsters to militant groups.

The 17-year-old boy was taken off a plane at Sydney airport on 12 March after being interviewed by counter-terrorism officers, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told reporters.

He has since been returned to his family while investigations continue.

Two other boys, aged 16 and 17, with tickets to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country were stopped from leaving Australia on 6 March.

The cases came after three British schoolgirls left their London homes to join Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria in February, which sparked accusations that authorities had failed to warn families their children risked being radicalised.

Some 200 people have been prevented from leaving Australia to become foreign fighters with extremist groups, authorities say.

"The point of all this is there is a significant and growing threat at our airports and our borders," Dutton said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott underlined that no effort would be spared to prevent people joining groups such as IS in Iraq and Syria.

"We will do everything we can to stop you if you do try," Abbott told the same press conference.

"It is absolutely critical that the people of Australia appreciate that the death cult (IS) is reaching out to vulnerable and impressionable young people.

"The death cult is reaching out, seeking effectively to brainwash people online," he said.

Earlier this month, an 18-year-old Australian boy who joined IS reportedly blew himself up in a suicide attack in Iraq.

The teen, Jake Bilardi, left materials for improvised explosive devises at his family home in Melbourne before leaving for Syria, and planned to use them for attacks in Australia had he not been able to reach the Middle East.

IS has recruited and trained more than 400 children in Syria as fighters in the first three months this year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The children, all under the age of 18, are called the Cubs of the Caliphate and were recruited from around mosques, schools and public areas where the Islamic State carries out brutal punishments.

According to the government, about 100 Australians are fighting with IS and other extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, with another 150 supporting them at home.

Australia announced on 3 March that it was sending another 300 troops to Iraq in a joint mission with New Zealand to help train local forces fighting to reclaim territory seized by IS.

Some 170 Australian special forces are already in Iraq helping to train government troops.

Canberra has boosted security measures amid fears of heightened threats from "home-grown" IS-inspired extremists, including revoking citizenship for dual nationals linked to extremism.