A woman formerly linked to the terror group Islamic State (IS) has been charged after returning to Australia.
The Australian Federal Police issued a media alert on Thursday morning saying its Joint Counter Terrorism Teams had charged a ‘female returnee with terrorism offences’ as part of Operation Kurrajong investigations.
Two groups of women and children who spent years in the Al-Roj refugee camp in far north-eastern Syria returned to Australia in May.
The AFP is expected to address details surrounding the arrest at a press conference at 12.15pm (AEST).
It comes two days after seven women and 12 children arrived in Sydney and Melbourne from Syria. No arrests were made on arrival.
Another group of four women and nine children returned to Australia on May 7, with some of the women met by police on arrival.
Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were charged with enslavement and using a slave after landing in Melbourne.
Abbas was also charged with possessing a slave and engaging in slave trading.
A woman, formerly linked to the terror group Islamic State, has been charged by police after returning to Australia (Pictured, a cohort arriving in Sydney on Tuesday)
There was a heavy police presence ahead of the group’s arrival
Janai Safar is pictured after being arrested at Sydney Airport on May 7
Her other daughter Zahra Ahmad, 33, was not accused of committing any crimes and walked free from Melbourne Airport.
Janai Safar, 32, landed in Sydney and was charged with entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and joining a terrorist organisation.
‘ISIS brides’ describes women recruited by the terror group IS and moved to Iraq or Syria to marry fighters and raise their children between 2012 and 2016.
Many of the women have spoken about being tricked into living in Syria, with some experts suggesting recruiters painted a utopian view of life with the terrorist group.
Following IS’s fall in 2019, the women and their children were placed in Al-Roj refugee camp in far north-eastern Syria. The men were either executed or imprisoned.
Boys held in the Al-Roj camp were transferred to adult prison once they reached their teenage years, sometimes slightly earlier.
More to come.
