Sydney teen terror suspect held in Lebanon

Lebanese authorities say they have arrested an 18-year-old Australian man suspected of trying to travel to Syria to fight for Islamic State.

A sign reading in Arabic 'attention, Islamic State check point' is seen at a checkpoint for IS at the northern entrance of Al-Raqqa, Syria, 18 October 2017.

A sign reading in Arabic 'attention, Islamic State check point' is seen at a checkpoint for IS at the northern entrance of Al-Raqqa, Syria, 18 October 2017. Source: AAP

A Sydney teenager, suspected of trying to travel to Syria to fight for Islamic State, has been arrested in Lebanon and has provided details of other Australians linked to the militants, local officials say.

The Lebanese Internal Security Forces said in a statement it had arrested a Lebanese-Australian man, who had lived in Sydney for several years "and embraced extremist ideology".

The ISF said the man, born in 1999, had become radicalised by watching and reading online material from the terror group and arrived in Lebanon on August 20.
"After his arrival in Lebanon he continued with members of 'Daash' in Syria via the internet," the ISF statement said.

The statement added the teenager was detained two days before he was due to depart for Syria and had given up information on other Australian fighters, and supporters and financiers of the militant group.

The ISF claimed the Australian man was linked to an IS co-ordinator in a neighbouring country.

The teen will face a local court at a future date, the statement added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to an Australian man detained in Lebanon, but would not provide further comment.

Share
Published 4 November 2017 6:52am
Updated 4 November 2017 4:40pm


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world