Boat carrying asylum seekers intercepted on way to Australia

CANBERRA - A boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted in the Indian Ocean en route to Australia.

News Corp Australia reported that the Australian Border Force (ABF) intercepted the vessel over the weekend and took the asylum seekers to Christmas Island for processing.

A government charter plane departed the island on Tuesday morning carrying 20 failed asylum seekers back to their home country.

It is the third boat that has been intercepted under Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB), an Australia's military-led border protection operation, since the general election in May.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton refused to comment on the incident, but a spokesperson from his office told News Corp that the governing Liberal-National Party coalition remained committed to OSB.