Help sought for ‘ISIS baby’ brought home to Australia after violent classroom incidents

After witnessing some of the worst atrocities committed by ISIS, a repatriated Australian boy has sparked concerns among people trying to help him settle back in at home.

Several groups are seeking help for the child of an Australian foreign fighter over fears he could turn radical after he began “acting violent” in the classroom.

The boy’s teachers, his Sydney family and non-profit organisations over the past year say they have been left high and dry after raising the alarm over his concerning behaviour.

One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, feared he could “go down a radical path” if serious issues in his recovery were not addressed.

While initially adapting well to life back in Sydney when he returned from overseas, those aware of his case said it was only in the past year issues began to arise.

His “violent threats and actions” in school saw several members of the community, including his teachers, come together to ask the government for more support.

The boy was one of dozens taken into the war zone at the height of the conflict.

When contacted this week the NSW Education Department said there would be “no comment”.

While he did have access to a support team to help reintegrate back into society since he was repatriated, those advocating for him say more was needed after several incidents at school.

Some of the worst acts took place while the boy was overseas.

Like others who have been repatriated home from the foreign war zone, experts in extremism and mental health were attached to the family in a bid to help the boy adjust to living back in Sydney.

While some of his actions raised concerns, it is understood the boy has no criminal history.

He is one of dozens of Australian children who arrived home from the Middle East in the past few years, after spending some of his childhood in the region during ISIS’ reign of terror.

Those who know the child told The Saturday Telegraph he witnessed some of the worst atrocities committed at the height of the conflict after being brought into the war zone by his parents.

More than 30 Australian women and children remain in the Al-Roj camp.

It comes just weeks after the Federal Court separately rejected an appeal that would have seen 31 more Australian women and children repatriated back home to Australia from Syria.

The group of wives and children of ISIS fighters have spent the past five years in the Al Roj refugee camp in northern Syria awaiting news if they can return home.

Their case last year, ran on their behalf by Save The Children, was lodged after a cohort of Sydney-based ISIS brides and their children were secretly extracted from the same camp in early 2023.

Lawyers for Save The Children said the Australian government had a duty to return the second group in the same way it helped bring the first group home.

The lawyers unsuccessfully argued they were being held in Syria only because the Australian government refused to repatriate them despite initial plans to bring them home.

The lawyers argued the government had a moral obligation to return the group who had endured “appalling conditions”.

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Originally published as Help sought for ‘ISIS baby’ brought home to Australia after violent classroom incidents