Australian police have detained five men suspected of planning to sail a small boat from the far north to Indonesia and the Philippines en route to joining Islamic State in Syria, officials said on Wednesday.
The men were held on Tuesday after towing the seven-meter boat almost 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) from Melbourne to Cairns in Queensland state, police said.
Australia has come under criticism for its tough immigration policies aimed at stopping asylum seekers taking boats from Indonesia to Australia, but few are believed to have attempted the journey in the opposite direction.