PM denies helping remaining ISIS brides trying to return to Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied offering some of the remaining so-called ISIS brides any help after reports emerged another group appears ready to return to Australia.
Six women, their children and grandchildren will likely leave the Al Roj camp in Syria for Damascus and then Australia, the ABC reported.
It's unclear when exactly they will make the up to 26-hour journey home.
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The remainder of the so-called ISIS group in Syria are reportedly planning to return to Australia. 9News
Albanese refused to confirm the report but told the ABC the US has been "very keen" on having people leave the camp.
"There wasn't a government person on the plane (with the previous cohort), because we weren't providing any assistance, and won't," he told the ABC.
"If there have been any breaches of Australian law, they will face the full force of the law, which is what happened to people when they arrived back just a couple of weeks ago."
Last month, four women and nine children boarded flights from Damascus to Sydney and Melbourne.
Three of the women - 53-year-old Kawsar Ahmad, her 31-year-old daughter Zeinab Ahmad, and 32-year-old Janai Safar - were arrested upon arrival and later charged.
The mother and daughter were charged with slavery-related offences, while Safar was charged with joining a terrorist organisation and travelling to a declared conflict zone.
All three currently remain in custody pending future court dates.
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Court sketches of Kawsar Ahmad (left) and Zeinab Ahmad (right) at their bail hearings. AAP
Janai Safar arrives at Mascot Police Station. A Current Affair
They are all part of the wider group of 34 Australians – 11 women and 23 children – who have spent the last seven years at the camp due to their alleged links to Islamic State fighters.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has only been able to legally ban one of the women from returning to Australia.
She is expected to remain behind in Syria. The ABC reports her children will likely join the second group in returning to Australia.
Two cohorts of IS-linked Australian women and children have previously returned home.
In 2019, the Morrison government repatriated a group of Australian children of a convicted ISIS terrorist, with the then-prime minister saying they could not be held responsible for the crimes of their parents.
About three years later, a second group of Australian women and children were repatriated by the Albanese government.
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