IS-Linked Australian Women Arrested At Airport After Years Living In Syrian Refugee Camp

AFP officers detain two women in hijabs at Melbourne Airport arrivals gate, while another woman is held at Sydney airport.

Three Australian women with Islamic State links were arrested upon returning from Syria — Kawsar Ahmad and Zeinab Ahmad at Melbourne airport, Janai Safar in Sydney — all charged within hours of landing.

In Raqqa, two women in niqabs count money over an enslaved woman bowed in fear.

AFP allege Kawsar Ahmad and Zeinab Ahmad both travelled to Syria in 2014, were complicit in purchasing a female slave for US$10,000, and knowingly kept her captive inside their home.

Janai Safar in a black hijab walks beside her armed husband under black IS flags in a Syrian conflict zone.

Janai Safar, 32, allegedly travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her IS-affiliated husband. She faces charges of entering a declared conflict zone, joining IS, and being a member of a terrorist organisation.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt stands over case files at headquarters, his expression grave and resolute.

Crimes against humanity charges carry a maximum 25 years in prison; IS membership up to 10 years. AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt confirmed all Australians who travelled to conflict zones remain under active investigation.

At Syria's Al-Roj camp, Australian women and children hold documents after being turned back, visibly frustrated and exhausted.

Part of 34 Australian women and children from al-Roj camp, Syria, they attempted return in February but were sent back. 1 member was even banned under a “temporary exclusion order” for 2 years.

Zahra Ahmad and children emerge at Melbourne Airport as men form a human shield against flashing media cameras.

At Melbourne airport, chaotic scenes erupted as Zahra Ahmad — the 1 woman not arrested — emerged from arrivals. About 15 men in black swarmed to cover her and the children’s faces from waiting media.