Thirteen Australian women and children linked to Islamic State return from Syria
Thirteen Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group have returned to Australia from Syria, with arrivals reported in Melbourne and Sydney.
The returnees left the Al Roj camp in Syria nearly two weeks earlier.
One group landed at Melbourne Airport on Thursday night, while another woman and her child arrived at Sydney International Airport shortly afterwards.
The arrivals were described as part of a wider repatriation of Australian women and children with links to former Islamic State fighters.
Two of the women who landed in Melbourne have been charged with offences related to slavery.
A 32-year-old woman who arrived in Sydney has been charged with terror-related offences.
The case is significant because it brings back to Australia people linked to a group that remains a focus of counterterrorism concern, even after losing its last territory in 2019.
It also raises immediate legal questions for the adults involved, while children in the group are now back in Australia.
The women and children had been living in the Al Roj camp in north-eastern Syria, where many families linked to Islamic State were held after the group lost control of territory.
Their return follows years of scrutiny over Australians who travelled to Syria and Iraq to join or support the group.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, more than 200 Australian men, women and children travelled to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State between 2012 and 2019.
The department has also said dozens more Australians assisted the group by helping fighters overseas or by planning or carrying out attacks in Australia.
