34 Australians released from Syrian IS camp returned over technical reasons

17-Feb-2026

.

34 Australians released earlier on February 16 from a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants in northern Syria have returned to the detention centre due to "technical reasons," two sources told Reuters.

Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been handed to members of their families who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus ahead of their departure from the country with a military escort.

However, the Australian families returned to Roj camp shortly after leaving, the sources said, due to "technical problems" between the families and the Damascus government.