Four women linked to ISIS fighters arrived in Australia on Thursday night, but only one left the airport a free woman.
Zahra Ahmad, a mother of three, was mobbed as she left Melbourne Airport’s international terminal alongside one man and a group of children.
She landed at about 5.30pm alongside her mother Kawsar Abbas, 53, and sister Zeinab Ahmed, 31. The three women travelled with eight children.
Shortly after, about 5.45pm, another woman who had travelled from the al-Roj refugee camp in north-eastern Syria, Janai Safar, 32, and her nine-year-old son landed in Sydney.
Three of the four women were arrested soon after landing.
Janai Safar was whisked to Mascot Police Station and has been charged with entering or remaining in declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation. Each offence carries a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Kawsar Abbas will face charges of enslavement, using a slave and engaging in slave trading. Zeinab Ahmed will be charged with enslavement and using a slave.
However, Zahra Ahmad was allowed to walk free and was shielded from the media by a group of large men dressed in black as she left Melbourne Airport on a shuttle bus.
Zahra Ahmad smiles as she leaves Melbourne Airport on Thursday night. Her mother and sister were arrested on enslavement charges soon after landing
Ms Ahmad was seen holding tightly onto her youngest son Ibrahim, 7, while leaving Melbourne Airport on Thursday night
Clinging to her side was her youngest son – seven-year-old Ibrahim.
Her other children, 12-year-old Omar and his brother 14-year-old Mohammad, did not appear to walk with her.
Ms Ahmad’s family travelled to Syria from their home in north Melbourne in 2014.
While the circumstances of their travel are contested, it’s largely reported that they visited the region for a wedding.
However, Ms Ahmad told SBS in an interview in 2024 that once they arrived the ‘male influencers’ in her family decided to stay and join ISIS.
She claims she had no desire to join the terrorist group but was forced to by her family.
‘I didn’t make this bed,’ Ms Ahmad said in 2024.
‘We are now forced to suffer for the decisions that other people – other male influencers – have made on our behalf, and now they’re all gone and we are left to suffer with our kids.’
Ms Ahmad (left) was the only one of four ISIS brides to not be arrested upon landing in Australia
Ms Ahmad’s two eldest sons – 12-year-old Omar and 14-year-old Mohammad – were not by her side at the airport
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Ms Ahmad was married to notorious Islamic State recruiter Muhammad Zahab, who died in a 2018 air strike.
She and other Australian women and children linked to ISIS were moved to the al-Roj refugee camp in 2019.
Teenage boys were separated from their mothers and sent to adult prisons.
In 2024, Ms Ahmad shared concern her eldest son would soon be taken from her side and transferred to a prison.
She feared he would be lost permanently if he entered the system, much like Australian teenager Yusuf Zahab who was sent to adult prison at age 15.
Mr Zahab was trafficked from Australia into ISIS territory at age 12 and was separated from his mother and sister during the fall of Baghouz in 2019.
He is due to turn 23 this year and remains in custody, despite having never been charged with a crime. It’s believed he’s currently being held in Iraq.
Boys as young as 10 years old have been taken from their mothers in the refugee camps and imprisoned.
Ms Ahmad married an IS fighter – she is pictured in Syria’s al-Roj refugee camp
Relatives of the ISIS brides carry out young children who were with the group when they touched down in Melbourne
Men shield Ms Ahmad from the media as she leaves Melbourne Airport
Ms Ahmad got into a waiting minibus as the media pack surrounded the vehicle
From her tent in al-Roj in 2024, Ms Ahmad pleaded with Australian authorities to allow her to return home.
She feared her two eldest children would be taken in the night.
‘If they take them away from me, I might never see them again,’ Ms Ahmad said.
‘I can’t have that happen to my kids. They are innocent. They haven’t done anything wrong.
‘I don’t believe they should be punished for something they don’t even have anything to do with.’
Mohammad was well aware of the consequences of his birthdays in the camp.
‘I’m a big boy. I don’t want to get separated from my mum,’ the then-12-year-old said.
While Ms Ahmad did not speak to reporters as she left the airport on Thursday, she previously said she understood Australians’ scepticism to accept her return.
‘I think I would have the same concern if I was back home,’ she said.
‘But what I would like to say is don’t be so quick to judge. Try and look at it from our perspective. We are also mothers.’
