CANBERRA: British nationals who become foreign fighters abroad could be prevented from returning home under tough new laws to deal with militants fighting in conflicts like Iraq and Syria, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday.

A new counter-terrorism bill will also prevent airlines that do not comply with Britain’s no-fly lists or security screening measures from landing on its territory, Cameron said in an address to Australia’s parliament.

Britain’s security threat level was raised to its second-highest in August due to the dangers posed by Islamic State fighters returning from Iraq and Syria. Security analysts say foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria now number in the thousands.

“We have to confront this threat at its source,” Cameron said in Canberra, before heading to Brisbane for the Group of 20 summit.

Under the new powers, police will be able to seize passports to stop suspects travelling abroad and to stop British nationals returning unless they submit to screening processes.

Cameron first mooted the new laws in September. On Friday he said they would be introduced “shortly”, without providing a specific date.

The rise of militants in Britain has been a growing concern since four Britons killed 52 people in suicide bomb attacks in London in July 2005.

Published in Dawn, November 15th , 2014