Three ISIS-linked Australian woman have been arrested as they arrived in the country on Thursday evening alongside another ISIS brides and their nine children and grandchildren.
Melbourne grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 53, and one of her adult daughters, understood to be Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested upon arrival into Melbourne airport by joint counterterrorism teams under Operation Kurrajong.
In Sydney, former nursing student Janai Safar, 32, was also arrested on arrival.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed the three had been arrested ahead of a press conference on Thursday night.
Ms Abbas and her two adult daughters, Zahra Ahmed and Zeinab Ahmed, and their eight children landed in Melbourne just after 5pm AEST.
There was a heavy police presence in the arrivals hall of both airports as the planes touched down.
Ms Safar, her son, and an unknown man were escorted off their flight in Sydney by police, according to passengers on board.
Ms Safar was taken into custody before she went through the arrival gates and was whisked away to the Mascot police station.
Around 20 family members and security were waiting outside of the Melbourne arrivals terminal.
“We just want to get them out of here peacefully, we’re security,” one of them told media outlets at the airport.
There was a scuffle between security and media as one of the ISIS brides left Melbourne airport and was driven away by a waiting bus.
Some women are accused of travelling to Syria to support Islamic State fighters, while others have previously claimed they were either misled or followed family members into the conflict zone.
Potential charges they could face include entering or remaining in declared terrorist zones, crimes against humanity, and alleged involvement in slave trading, though authorities have indicated bail is likely.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett flagged the charges earlier in the day.
“Some individuals will be arrested and charged. I will not flag how many individuals will be arrested or when they will be arrested to protect a number of our investigations,” she said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Some will face continued investigations when they arrive in Australia.”
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