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Aussie teen joins terror group

AAP

AAP

A teenager has fled his home in Queensland to fight with a terrorist group in Syria, federal police have confirmed.

The 18-year-old left Toowoomba last month and has made his way to Syria to join Al Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, a police spokesman said.

“He went [to Syria] via a number of different locations,” federal police commander Peter Crozier told The Courier-Mail.

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Police have urged the young man to return for the sake of his family.

“Consider what you are putting your family through,” Mr Crozier said.

The terror recruit reportedly lied to his family in order to get either their permission or assistance to leave the country.

Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri said the council was surprised by the man’s “drastic” action, and blamed the Abbott government.

Many young Muslim men in Australia feel disenfranchised and the community and governments need to work together to engage with them, Mr Kadri said.

“The Prime Minister or the top ministers attacking Muslims makes them feel more marginalised and alienated,” he said.

“I would request politicians to watch what they say and be measured in their statements and not just make dog whistle political statements and address the issue at its core.”

If the young man does return home, he will face “some sort of action”, police said.

In March, Al-Nusra Front forces captured the Syrian city of Idlib, the second provincial capital to fall into rebel hands during the civil war of more than four years.

-with ABC and agencies

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