AUSTRALIA'S CITIZENSHIP STRIPPINGS

AUSTRALIA strips five of citizenship over Islamic State Links.

Five people have been stripped of their Australian citizenship for fighting alongside the  Islamic State` group in Iraq and Syria, with officials saying Thursday the country was a better place without them.

They join notorious Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf who made headlines when he posted a  Twitter image of his young son holding a severed head  -as the only nationals to be kicked out under tougher anti-terror laws.

I can confirm that five more individuals have ceased to be Australian citizens because of their involvement with Islamic State offshore,'' home affairs minister Peter Dutton said in a statement.

''Fundamentally, nncitizenship requires allegiance to the country.  .........these five dual-nationals  have been acting against  Australia's  interests by engaging with terrorism and have effectively chosen to leave the Australian community.''

The five are` all aged in their 20s and 30s. Dutton provided no further details on their identities but welcomes their exclusion.

''Australia is a safer place for not having them return,'' he said.

Canberra has become increasingly concerned about Australian nationals returning home after fighting alongside  Islamic State abroad and has passed a series of tougher national security laws in recent years.

That includes legislation where people can forfeit their citizenship if they also hold a passport from another country, and therefore are not left stateless.

Sharrouf, the first Australian national stripped of his passport for Islamic State links, was also a Lebanese citizen.

He left Australia for Syria in 2013 with his family. [Agencies]