Alleged jihadists caught at Sydney airport

News Limited reports that authorities were alerted to the men, aged in their 20s, due to the large sums of money they were carrying.

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton refused to confirm the interception.

Australian authorities say they have detained seven people who were apparently trying to travel to the Middle East to join Islamic extremist groups.

Mr Dutton said they were offloaded from their flight and interviewed.

It is believed that is when the group of five would-be terrorists were stopped.

Reports said that the Australian jihadi death toll in the Middle East had risen to 39.

‘We are concerned about the number of people presenting at airports, particularly younger people, who might be seeking to travel overseas for reasons that would horrify Australians and their parents and family and community no doubt as well, ‘ he said.

When pressed about the incident by a reporter, Mr Dutton indicated more details might be available later today.

Mr Abbott made the comments at a media conference this morning.

In addition to attempts to safeguard against any domestic attacks, Australian officials have intensified efforts to prevent radicalised citizens from joining organisations such as the Islamic State militant group that has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria.

This has prompted Australia to carry out several counter-terrorism raids across the nation and introduce tough laws that would strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they join a terrorist group.

“We’ve consulted obviously with the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies about the appropriateness of the detail that can be released at this point in time”, he said.

Bilardi, Elomar and Sharrouf are all believed to be dead – all killed while involved in terrorist activites.