Australian with ISIS links in Syria temporarily blocked from coming home

Australian citizen with ISIS links in Syria hit with exclusion order, federal government saysTopic:Foreign Affairs11m ago11 minutes agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 6:17amA group of Australian families tried to leave the camp in Syria on Monday but were forced to turn back. (Supplied)abc.net.au/news/australia-issues-teo-against-isis-linked-citizen-in-syria-camp/106360092Link copiedShareShare articleThe federal government has temporarily banned an Australian citizen with links to Islamic State from returning home from Syria.Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed one of the 34 Australians who tried to leave a Syrian refugee camp earlier this week had been issued a temporary exclusion order "on advice from security agencies"."At this stage security agencies have not provided advice that other members of the cohort meet the required legal thresholds for temporary exclusion orders," he said in a statement.The order means the individual could be banned from entering Australia for up to two years.It comes after a group of 11 Australian families who have been held in the Al-Roj refugee camp in north-eastern Syria for more than six years attempted to start travelling home earlier in the week.On Monday the convoy left the camp with plans to head to the Syrian capital, Damascus, and then eventually continue home to Australia, the ABC was told.Shortly into their journey Syrian government authorities did not allow the group to continue, so they were forced to turn around.It is unclear when the group, which consists of 11 women and 23 children, may attempt the journey again.Opposition raises concerns about rest of groupThe temporary exclusion order is the latest action from the federal government, which has for years grappled with how to deal with the cohort of so-called "ISIS brides".Most of the women are presumed to have moved to Syria with their ISIS fighter husbands, who were then subsequently killed or captured when Kurdish forces, backed by the United States, helped to defeat IS in 2019.The children were either brought to Syria with their parents or born in the Al-Roj camp.Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam, who this week had called on the federal government to issue TEOs to block the cohort from returning, said he had "grave concerns" about the rest of the group."If the minister is claiming that only one of the 34 strong ISIS Bride cohort is deemed risky enough to warrant a Temporary Exclusion Order, then this raises more questions than answers," he said."These ISIS Brides all travelled to the same 'declared area' for the same reason of supporting the same listed terrorist organisation — how can only one member of this group be deemed a risk and the rest somehow OK?"Legal experts however had warned that Australia had an obligation to allow its citizens to return home, and argued that leaving them in Syria could put them at greater risk of radicalisation.Posted 11m ago11 minutes agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 6:17amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesAustralian linked to ISIS blocked from returning homeLIVE