Scoopfeeds — Intelligent news, curated.
international

Indecision, secrets, and 'inevitability': Behind the latest 'ISIS bride' return

ABC Australia · May 7, 2026, 5:50 AM

Key takeaways

  • The women and children left the Al Roj camp in Syria late in April, with plans to travel to Australia.
  • Authorities have been preparing for their return for years, with the federal government acutely aware of its limitations in preventing Australian citizens from returning home.
  • Yesterday, the federal government received official notification that the flights were booked, and federal police swiftly confirmed some of the cohort would face charges once in Australia.

Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.

The women and children left the Al Roj camp in Syria late in April, with plans to travel to Australia. (ABC News: Baderkhan Ahmad)

Link copied Share Share article After a failed attempt and months of waiting for their next opportunity, four women and nine children will tonight land in Sydney and Melbourne, after almost seven years in a Syrian detention camp.

Their journey has been shrouded in secrecy and political debate has swirled around the return of the so-called 'ISIS brides', who Labor ministers and the prime minister have repeatedly, publicly condemned for their involvement with ISIS fighters.

Article preview — originally published by ABC Australia. Full story at the source.
Read full story on ABC Australia → More top stories
Aggregated and edited by the Scoop newsroom. We surface news from ABC Australia alongside other reporting so you can compare coverage in one place. Editorial policy · Corrections · About Scoop