Three women with links to the Islamic State group have been arrested upon returning to Australia after years of detention in Syria. All three are Australian citizens.
Police said two of them, Kawsar Abbas, 53, and Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested on arrival in Melbourne. A third woman, Janai Safar, 32, was arrested after landing in Sydney, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
A fourth woman in the group, which also includes nine children, was not arrested. The group had been held in the al-Roj camp in Syria since 2019 following the collapse of the Islamic State so-called caliphate in 2019.
The case has triggered political debate in Australia, with the government saying it would not assist their return. The children, believed to be aged between six and their mid-teens, will receive psychological support and be assessed for possible radicalisation.
Authorities said Australia, like several other countries, is still dealing with the return of citizens and their children from Syria after thousands of foreigners were held in IS camps in life-threatening conditions.
The group that arrived in Melbourne included Kawsar Abbas, her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, and reportedly another daughter, Zahra Ahmed, along with their children. Abbas is married to Mohammad Ahmad, who was previously suspected by Australian police of using a charity to send funds to IS, an allegation he denied.
Upon arrival in Melbourne, the group was met by a group of men at the airport before being escorted away. One of the women, believed to be Zahra Ahmed, is the widow of IS recruiter Muhammad Zahab, who died in an airstrike in 2018.
Janai Safar, who arrived in Sydney with her nine-year-old son, was taken into custody by police upon landing. She is a former nursing student from Sydney who travelled to Syria in 2015 and reportedly married an IS fighter.
Police officials confirmed that some of the women may face charges, including terrorism-related offences and crimes against humanity such as alleged involvement in slave trading.
The group is part of a larger cohort of 34 people, believed to include wives, widows and children of IS fighters, who left Syria in February but later returned due to what authorities described as technical reasons. One individual from the broader group is subject to a temporary exclusion order preventing their return to Australia.
Officials said the government had long prepared for the possible return of such individuals and would monitor and manage them closely. Intelligence authorities said they were not immediately concerned but would be paying close attention.
Authorities also said returning children will be required to take part in counter-extremism programs as part of their reintegration process.
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