A group of Australians believed to be the wives and children of Islamic State fighters who spent years stranded in Syria have managed to quietly return to Australia. The women went to Syria and Iraq during the rule of the terrorist group Islamic State, which controlled large parts of both countries between 2013 and 2019. Women and children in the foreign annex of a camp in Syria in 2019. Credit: Kate GeraghtyAfter leaving Syria, the group of six arrived in Beirut and was detained by Lebanese authorities as they did not have valid visas or legitimate entry records, the federal government has confirmed. The opposition said it was “gravely concerned ... that half a dozen ISIS brides and their children have secretly returned to Australia”.