Women linked to ISIL fighters return to Australia from Mideast

MELBOURNE

A group of women linked to the ISIL terrorist organization arrived in Australia on May 7, returning home years after allegedly sneaking into Syria to join the group’s self-declared caliphate.

The women and their children, all Australian citizens, landed on May 7 evening after securing passage from Syrian refugee camps where they have languished since the ISIL group’s demise.

Three women and eight children were reportedly aboard a Qatar Airways flight that arrived at Melbourne Airport from Doha. Another plane landed in Sydney. Australian media said a woman and her son from the Syrian camp were aboard.

There was a noticeable police presence at both airports ahead of the arrivals, according to AFP journalists in Melbourne and Sydney.

Police have said some of the returning women will be charged with “terrorism offences” such as travelling to a banned area and even “engaging in slave trading.”

“For operational reasons, I won’t go into who may be arrested but obviously we’re working very closely with Commonwealth authorities,” New South Wales state police commissioner Mal Lanyon said on May 7 before their arrival.

Hundreds of women from Western nations were lured to the Middle East as ISIL gained prominence in the early 2010s, in many cases following husbands who had signed up as jihadist fighters.

Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and others are still grappling with how to treat citizens stranded after the group collapsed. Widely known as the “ISIL brides,” the case has stirred strong feelings in Australia.

Australia’s Human Rights Commission urged the government in March to help repatriate 34 women and children stuck in Syria’s notorious Roj refugee camp.

But others have accused the women of turning their back on Australia and believe they should be left to face the consequences.