Report: Australian women, children returning from Syria camp

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports the first group of Australian women and children held in a Syrian camp since the Islamic State group fell in 2019 is bound for Sydney despite government opponents arguing they pose an unacceptable extremist threat. The ABC reports that four women and 13 children left the Roj detention camp on Thursday and were taken to Iraq before boarding a flight to Australia. They would be the only Australians involved in the Islamic State campaign in the Middle East to be officially repatriated apart from eight children in 2019. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not comment on the details of the ABC report, but says his government “will always act to keep Australians safe.”