Australia Arrests Three Women With Islamic State Links
Three women with links to Islamic State were arrested in Australia on Thursday. They had spent more than seven years in Syrian detention camps.
The women arrived as part of a group of 13 women and children from Syria. Two flights landed on Thursday evening — one in Sydney and one in Melbourne.
One woman was arrested in Sydney and two were arrested in Melbourne. This was the second time Australia brought back women and children from Syrian camps.
The Australian government learned on Wednesday that four women and nine children had booked flights from Damascus, Syria. Australian Federal Police have been looking into Australians who travelled to Islamic State territory since 2015. The returns ended a long dispute over whether Australia should bring back citizens held in Syrian camps.
Key Terms 3
- Islamic State A violent extremist group that controlled parts of Iraq and Syria
- detention camps Guarded sites in Syria where Islamic State-linked people were held
- repatriation Bringing citizens back to their home country