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Flights carrying women and children linked to IS group land in Australia
AP | May 8, 2026 6:38 AM CST

Synopsis

Thirteen Australians, including women and children, have returned home after years in a Syrian desert camp. They allegedly have ties to the Islamic State group. Police are investigating potential criminal charges for the women. The group arrived on separate Qatar Airways flights in Melbourne and Sydney.

The so-called ISIS-bride cohort
Melbourne: Airliners carrying Australian women and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State group landed in Australia on Thursday.

An airliner reportedly carrying three Australian women and eight children landed in Melbourne, while a separate plane carrying a woman and her son arrived in Sydney soon after.

The Australian government announced on Wednesday that the 13 - who have spent years in a Syrian desert camp - planned to return to Australia.


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Police said the women face potential criminal charges relating to their alleged time in the Islamic State group's so-called caliphate that spanned Syria and Iraq.

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Both Qatar Airways flights took off minutes apart from Doha, bound for Australia's two largest cities. QR904, which landed in Melbourne first, was followed by QR908 in Sydney.


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