Police say Australian women with alleged IS ties face charges on return from Syria

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. World Police say Australian women with alleged IS ties face charges on return from Syria May 6, 20262:07 AM ET By The Associated Press Members of Australian families at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, Friday, April 24, 2026. Baderkhan Ahmad/AP hide caption toggle caption Baderkhan Ahmad/AP MELBOURNE, Australia — A number of Australian women with alleged ties to Islamic State group militants will be arrested and face criminal investigations if they return from Syria, police said Wednesday. Middle East conflict Wives and children of foreign ISIS fighters stranded in Syria with no way home The Australian government had been alerted Wednesday that four women and nine children had booked flights from Damascus to Australia, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

He did not say when they were expected to arrive. Australian Federal Police since 2015 have been investigating the behavior of Australians who had traveled to the Islamic State group's so-called caliphate that had been centered in Syria, Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said. Investigations had included potential terrorism offenses and crimes against humanity such as slave trading, she said.

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Sponsor Message "Some individuals will be arrested and charged. Some will face continued investigations when they arrive in Australia," Barrett told reporters. The children would undergo programs to counter violent extremism, she said.

The government was required to provide the group travel documents but has repeatedly said it was not helping repatriate them. "The individuals concerned traveled … in support of one of the most horrific terrorist organizations we've seen in recent history or in our lifetimes," Burke told reporters. "There is a reason why the government has drawn a very hard line saying we will do nothing to assist.

The government's complete lack of support for these individuals is a direct reflection of the decisions that they made," he added. The women were held in Roj Camp near Syria's border with Iraq. They left the camp last week, but the Syrian government told The Associated Press then that the Australian government had "refused to receive them.

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" Burke said there was little his government could do to prevent their return. "There are very serious limits on what can be done with respect to preventing a citizen of a country returning to their country," Burke said. A previous attempt to return 34 women and children to Australia from the same camp in February was turned back by Syrian authorities.

Sponsor Message On that occasion, Australia's government banned one of the women from returning. The woman, whom the government did not identify, had been issued with a temporary exclusion order which Australia can use to prevent high-risk citizens from returning for up to two years.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.