Australian IS Detainees' Convoy Turned Back in Syria

A convoy carrying 34 Australians, including women and children linked to Islamic State fighters, was turned back Monday after departing a detention camp in northeastern Syria, dashing hopes for their imminent repatriation. The group had left Roj camp under military escort, heading toward Damascus, but was halted about 50 kilometers into the journey due to procedural issues involving Syrian government authorities.

Kurdish-led officials, who administer the camp, had announced the release earlier in the day, describing it as a transfer to Damascus followed by travel to Beirut for assistance from the Australian embassy. The individuals, comprising 11 families, were the last Australians held at Roj, a facility that detains more than 2,000 people from about 40 countries, mostly women and children captured after the Islamic State's territorial defeat in 2019. A Syrian official attributed the reversal to technical reasons and unresolved travel permissions between Kurdish-controlled areas and those under Damascus's oversight. "It's purely a procedural issue to be resolved," the official said.

The Australians in question are primarily women who traveled to Syria and Iraq between 2014 and...