A group of Australian women and children detained for years in Kurdish-run camps in northeastern Syria due to links to Islamic State are expected to arrive in Australia on Thursday evening.
The highly sensitive repatriation operation follows confirmation by the Australian government on Wednesday that four women and nine children were leaving Syria to return home. Authorities stressed the group would receive no government financial or logistical support for their journey, underlining the political sensitivity surrounding the issue.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the group split during transit through the Middle East. One woman and her child were reportedly on a commercial flight from Doha, Qatar, to Sydney, while the remainder boarded a separate flight to Melbourne.
The office of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment on the group’s travel arrangements or the security measures planned for their arrival.
The return of the group presents a significant challenge for Australian law enforcement and social services. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have been preparing for the operation for months and warned that some of the women could face immediate arrest and prosecution under Australia’s counter-terrorism laws.
Those not charged immediately are expected to face ongoing security investigations to determine the extent of any involvement in or support for the activities of the Islamic State group. Authorities will assess whether the women actively participated in the group or were coerced by radicalised husbands.
The nine returning children are expected to receive welfare and deradicalisation support. Many were born under the caliphate or spent much of their lives in detention camps marked by violence and extremism. State welfare agencies are expected to provide psychological care, education and community reintegration programmes.
Between 2012 and 2016, dozens of Australian women travelled illegally to Syria and Iraq, many claiming they were joining husbands who had gone to fight for Islamic State during the height of the group’s territorial expansion.
After the territorial defeat of IS by a U.S.-backed coalition in 2019, thousands of relatives of suspected fighters, including hundreds of foreign nationals, were detained indefinitely. Many were held in overcrowded camps such as al-Hol near the Iraqi border, where conditions were marked by disease, malnutrition and ongoing radicalisation by hardline IS supporters.
While some Australian women returned shortly after the fall of the caliphate, many others remained stranded in legal and diplomatic limbo.
The urgency to repatriate the remaining detainees increased in recent months following major regional instability. In January 2026, the United States military began rapidly relocating detained IS members and affiliated civilians out of Syria after the collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
For years, the SDF had guarded around a dozen major detention facilities as the primary Western-backed force in the region. Its collapse raised fears of mass prison breaks and a possible resurgence of Islamic State, prompting countries including Australia to retrieve their citizens before they disappeared into the conflict zone.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by a drone attack, with Riyadh and Baghdad sayin...
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces struck two cargo vessels overnight in the Ukrainian Black Sea port o...
Saudi Arabia is opening up to more international travellers as tourism expands beyond religious travel. In Riyadh, historic landmarks stand alongsi...
Overnight Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan damaged multiple U.S. aircraft and left one without a wing, American media reported. Meanwhile, explosions were heard across parts of southern Iran according to local media reports.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery in Siberia and a seaport in Dagestan in the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday to discuss air defences for Ukraine over winter.
A Russian strike on a gas station in Kyiv has killed two people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram. In Russia, online marketplace Ozon has suspended operations in Saratov, southwestern Russia, following a drone strike on a warehouse in the region.
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks drew the U.S. into Afghanistan, the Taliban is seeking a new relationship with Washington built on diplomacy, investment and trade, despite deep divisions between the former enemies.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces struck two cargo vessels overnight in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk, the Interfax news agency reported on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by a drone attack, with Riyadh and Baghdad saying the strike originated from Iraq.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Dublin on Saturday to meet Ireland’s leaders. He will also attend a golf tournament at one of his resorts, taking a brief detour from his focus on the Iran war and his party’s efforts to retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
Dubai’s property market has spent years climbing. Now, for the first time since 2021, prices are moving in the opposite direction.
Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella has formally ended all government peace negotiations with illegal armed groups, marking a dramatic shift in the country's security strategy and delivering on a central pledge from his election campaign.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment