Australia bans a citizen with alleged IS links from returning from Syria

Family members of suspected Islamic State militants who are Australian nationals board a van heading to the airport in Damascus during the first repatriation operation of the year, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. Thirty-four Australian citizens from 11 families departed the camp.

The Australian is among a group of 34 women and children who had planned to fly from Damascus to Australia on Monday but were turned back by Syrian authorities to the Roj detention camp due to procedural problems.

(Image credit: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP)