Three Australian women with links to the Islamic State have been arrested upon returning to Australia after years in detention at Syria's al-Roj camp. Kawsar Abbas, 53, and Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested in Melbourne, while Janai Safar, 32, was arrested in Sydney. The group included nine children, ranging from approximately six to their mid-teens. A fourth woman in the party was not arrested. All three arrested women are Australian citizens who face potential charges including terrorism offences related to entering declared areas and crimes against humanity charges such as engagement in slave trading.

The return of these women has become a contentious political issue in Australia. The government had stated it would provide no assistance for their repatriation, and authorities are now assessing the children for possible radicalization while providing psychological support. The situation reflects broader challenges facing Western nations as they address the return of citizens and their offspring from Syria following the collapse of the Islamic State caliphate in 2019.

The women had been held in al-Roj camp since 2019. One of the arrested women, Janai Safar, is a former Sydney nursing student who traveled to Syria in 2015 and married an IS fighter. Another, Zeinab Ahmed, is the daughter of Kawsar Abbas, whose husband reportedly ran a charity suspected by Australian police of sending funds to IS. The group comprises part of a larger cohort of 34 individuals, including wives and widows of IS fighters, who departed the camp in February for "technical reasons."