AUSTRALIA   –  Five men on a terror watch list have been arrested on suspicion of trying to leave Australia by boat to join extremist groups in Syria, Australian police say.

The men are suspected of “potential offenses against the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act, specifically those concerning incursions into foreign countries to engage in hostile activities,” according to a joint press release by the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Queensland Police Service. As the suspects’ passports had been canceled, their only option to leave Australia was by sea. They were found with a seven-meter fiberglass cabin cruiser allegedly bought to make the trip. “We have information to suggest these men had purchased a boat in Victoria, and had driven to far north Queensland, where their intention was to depart Australia,” AFP Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters in a press conference…[+]