Second group of ‘ISIS brides’ and children arrive in Melbourne and Sydney

Two flights carrying so-called ISIS brides back to Australia have touched down in Melbourne and Sydney this afternoon.

A group of four women and six children arrived at Sydney Airport just after 5.30pm, having left the Al-Roj refugee camp in Syria late last week and travelled via Damascus.

Another group of two women and seven children arrived at Melbourne Airport about 4.30pm.

The Australian government said any of the women who may have committed crimes should “expect to face the full force of the law”.

One woman who had been living in the Syrian camp was not allowed to fly to Australia after the federal government imposed a temporary exclusion order, forcing her to remain behind in Damascus.

An exclusion order bans a person from entering Australia for two years on national security grounds, even if they are an Australian citizen.

The federal government has insisted it has not assisted any of the women in their repatriation and said security agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have plans in place to “manage and monitor” them.

“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group,” a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson said.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation.

“The priority of the government, as always, is the safety of the Australian community.”

The earlier cohort of four women and nine children arrived back in Australia earlier in May after leaving the same camp in Syria.

One of the women was arrested and charged with terror offences, including charges of entering a prohibited area and being a member of a terrorist organisation, after arriving in Sydney.

A further two women were arrested in Melbourne and charged with slavery offences allegedly committed during their time in Syria. 

The brides who followed their ISIS partners to Syria more than a decade ago have faced a long journey in their return to Australia.

The women and their children have been held in refugee camps in north-eastern Syria for years, following the collapse of ISIS, and recently failed in an attempt to leave the camp for Australia earlier this year.

Australia repatriated two other groups of women and children who were living in the Al Roj camp in 2019 and 2022.