3 min readUpdated: May 26, 2026 03:01 PM IST
Two planes carrying 19 Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group, held in Syria, arrived in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday (May 26), as the Australian government warned that some returnees could face legal action.
The government had earlier confirmed that seven women and 12 children were expected to arrive home aboard Qatar Airways flights, less than three weeks after a group of 13 individuals returned to the Australian cities in a similar situation.
Out of the four women on earlier flights, three were charged with slavery and terrorism offences.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said authorities would take strict action against any of the individuals who committed crimes, upon their arrival in the country.
“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group,” Burke said in a statement.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” he added.
Burke said that Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing since 2014 to manage and monitor returning ISIS-linked individuals.
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“The priority of the government, as always, is the safety of the Australian community,” he said.
‘Have nothing but contempt for anyone who has any sympathy for ISIS,’ says Albanese
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strongly condemned any sympathy for the Islamic State group and told Parliament, “I have nothing but contempt for anyone who has any sympathy for ISIS.”
After the departure of the latest group of people, at least two Australians remain in the Roj camp in northeast Syria, near the Iraq border, where people linked to the Islamic State group have been held since 2019, after the IS forces in the Middle East were defeated.
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An Australian woman, who was earlier prevented from returning under a temporary exclusion order, did not travel with the latest group.
The 29-year-old remained at Roj with her daughter, who was disabled by shrapnel wounds, The Australian newspaper reported, according to AP.
She reportedly left her home in Sydney in 2015, at the age of 18, to marry an IS fighter in Syria.
The family has roped in a Sydney-based lawyer to challenge the exclusion order that prevents the women from returning to the country until February 2028.
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