Australia seeks arrest of citizens over Syria combat claims

Australia has issued arrest warrants for a pair of Australian citizens believed to be fighting in Syria, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported, after images emerged of the two holding the severed heads of Syrian soldiers.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) counter-terrorism chief Neil Gaughan told the ABC in an interview that warrants had been issued for Australians Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar on terrorism offences.

A Twitter account linked to al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State last week published grizzly pictures of the beheaded corpses and heads of five soldiers killed in Syria’s Raqqa province, saying the soldiers were from the 17th division.