What is known about the IS-linked families about to arrive in Australia

Four women and nine children linked to Islamic State fighters are bound to arrive in Australia from Syria on Thursday, after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Wednesday confirmed they had acquired plane tickets.

Members of the group have been attempting to return to Australia since the rise of IS’s self-proclaimed caliphate in 2015. Here’s everything we know about their return and what awaits them.

Who are they?

Kawsar Abbas – The 54-year-old grandmother is expected to fly to Melbourne with her adult daughters Zeinab and Zahra Ahmed, and their children. Abbas is married to Mohammed Ahmed, who worked for the charity Global Humanitarian Aid, which was at one time suspected of directing resources towards Islamic State – a charge the family denies.

Mohammed claimed in 2019 that the family travelled to Syria to attend the wedding of his son, Omar, in 2014 before being trapped in the country when the border closed. A number of the men of the family fought for Islamic State. Kawsar insisted the women were unwitting victims.

Zahra Ahmed – The 33-year-old daughter of Kawsar Abbas and Mohammed Ahmed is the widow of IS recruiter Muhammad Zahab and has insisted she and her family travelled to Syria to do humanitarian work. She told this masthead that men in her family chose to join IS, but women had no choice but to follow.

Zeinab Ahmed – The 31-year-old sister of Zahra told the ABC last year that she feared for the safety of her children if they remained in Syria, and that other repatriations had made the cohort “so happy”.

Janai Safar – The 32-year-old former health science student is bound for Sydney alongside her child, born in 2016. She travelled to Islamic State-occupied Syria from Australia in 2015 and was married to an IS fighter who is believed to have died in 2017.

Safar told The Australian in 2019 that she would never return to Australia because she feared arrest and didn’t want her son growing up in a non-Islamic country. Her father, Samer Safar, said at the time he believed his daughter wanted to return to Australia, but was “stubborn”.

The four women will be joined by nine children. They were all part of a larger group of 34 people who unsuccessfully attempted to return to Australia in February.

Where were they?

The families had been living in the al-Roj refugee camp in the north-east of Syria near the Iraq border. US officials have been frustrated by the Australian government’s reluctance to repatriate the group, as they seek to shut down camps in Syria amid the war in Iran.

Last week, members of the group acquired plane tickets to Australia but were turned back by Syrian authorities while travelling to Damascus International Airport. Syrian authorities appear to have been heavily involved in transporting the group within the country, and holding them in Damascus while they await flights.

What awaits them?

The federal government has long maintained that no support was provided to the group, and they would face “the full force of the law” upon their return. The group was furnished with passports – a right that can be exercised by all citizens.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Wednesday some of the women would be arrested upon landing in Australia, but would not confirm how many.

Other members of the group will face “continued investigations”, while the nine children will “be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs”.

How will they be monitored?

Head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess, said he was not concerned by the cohort’s return, but confirmed the group would be monitored in Australia.

“It’s up to them what they do when they get here. If they start to exhibit signs of concern, we and the police, through the joint counter-terrorism teams, will take action,” Burgess said.

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