Islamic State women and children prepare to be flown back to Australia from Syria

Australia’s Islamic State brides and their kids are getting closer to making their way back to Australia from Syria.

Around 20 women and children in Syria are undergoing DNA tests as Australia repatriates the family members of Islamic State fighters.

The group was removed temporarily from al-Roj camp in recent days for testing to confirm their identities ­before they are issued with emergency passports, according to The Australian.

Australian officials have been in the camp speaking to the group of 16 women and their 42 children about their planned repatriation.

News Corp revealed that federal government intelligence agency ASIO cleared the rescue mission after visiting al-Roj detention camp, in Syria’s northeast, in late August and early September, carrying out final risk assessments on the group and on their extended families in Australia.

Australian women and children at the Al-Hawl camp in northeast Syria. Picture: Supplied

The Albanese government is planning to bring the families back to Australia in about three groups, with the most vulnerable to be prioritised.

However, while there has been activity in the camp over the past few days, it doesn’t mean they will be heading to Australia immediately, although it signifies an important milestone for them.

The returning families would require significant government support particularly for the children – many of whom were born under the Islamic State’s crude ‘caliphate’ or in the detention camps.

They have spent three years and seven months detained in the camps without charge.

A camp for displaced people in the countryside in northern Syria. Picture: AFP

According to The Australian, the family groups deemed most vulnerable in the camps would likely include the Assaad family – matriarch Bessima Assaad, and her three daughters Shayma, 22, Assya, 15, and Maysa, 12.

The girls were taken to Syria when they were aged 15, eight and five. Shayma was married off at 15 and has four children with her in the camp – three boys and a little girl named Mariam, who is 3.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil declined to comment to the Australian but her office referred to her previous statements, where she said the national interest and security would be the priority in any decision on repatriating the families.

The Albanese government are preparing to repatriate the family members of Islamic State fighters. Picture: David Geraghty

“The Australian government’s overriding priority is the protection of Australians and Australia’s national interests, informed by national security advice,” the minister’s spokesman said.

About half the women who are currently in al-Roj are expected to be charged by authorities once they arrive in Australia.

Potential charges that could be laid include entering a prescribed area, namely the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.

The previous Coalition government refused to return the families, former home affairs Minister Peter Dutton had set up a political fight with the Albanese government, saying the families should not be brought back due to the risk they posed.

Originally published as Islamic State women and children prepare to be flown back to Australia from Syria