CANBERRA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday said that Australian authorities must continue to monitor the return of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters after police foiled a terror plot to bring down an Australian plane earlier this week.
The plot, which would have involved either taking a bomb or a deadly gas on board a flight - possibly one from Jakarta to Sydney - was foiled by police on Sunday and resulted in the arrest of at least four people in Sydney.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Rudd said while authorities would be monitoring channels between the Middle East and Australia for returning foreign fighters, a lot of emphasis must be placed on monitoring those who attempt to return to Australia via Southeast Asia.
"In Australia, what we need to look at so carefully right now, is what is happening in terms of the return of foreign fighters to South East Asia and into Indonesia, in particular," Rudd said on Tuesday, intimating that potential foreign fighters may have been used to detonate an explosive coming into Australia from Indonesia.
"That is the thing which concerns me the most. Obviously, in terms of what has happened in Australia and in terms of the alleged bombing effort against an Australian aircraft, I haven't been briefed, but this may be part of the broader reaction to IS being squeezed out of the Middle East."
