4 days ago
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A group of Australian women believed to be the wives and children of Islamic State fighters who spent years stranded in Syria have managed to smuggle themselves back into Australia.
It is understood the women went to Syria and Iraq during the rule of the terrorist group Islamic State, which controlled large parts of both countries between 2013 and 2019.
The Islamic State group’s flag.Credit: AP
After leaving Syria, the group of six was detained by Lebanese authorities as they did not have valid visas or legitimate entry records. They were issued passports after being processed by Lebanese authorities.
Australian citizens are entitled to passports if they meet eligibility requirements.
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“The Australian government is not providing assistance and is not repatriating individuals in Syrian IDP camps,” a spokesperson said in relation to the group.
“If any of those people find their own way to return, our security agencies are satisfied that they are prepared and will be able to act in the interests of community safety.
“Our agencies have been monitoring these individuals for some time. We have confidence in our agencies.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is yet to comment on the new information.
The opposition said it was “gravely concerned about reporting that half a dozen ISIS brides and their children have secretly returned to Australia”.
“This is a highly dangerous cohort of individuals who associated themselves with the barbaric Islamic State Regime,” said Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Shadow Home Affairs minister Michaelia Cash in a statement.
“The government must come clean: either they knew about this cohort returning and hid it from the Australian public, or worse, family members of Islamic State terrorists returned to Australia without the government’s knowledge.
“This is nothing short of a dereliction of duty by the Albanese Labor government. These are people
who willingly travelled to a war zone and aligned themselves with one of the most barbaric terrorist
organisations in history.”
More to come
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