Family members of suspected Islamic State militants, who are Australian citizens, board a van to be taken to Damascus airport.
According to AP reporter Baderkhan Ahmad, it was the first repatriation operation of the year, from the Roj camp in eastern Syria, carried out on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Thirty-four Australian citizens, journalist Baderkhan Ahmad points out, were from 11 families who left the camp.
The Roj camp in eastern Syria held mainly citizens and children from Western countries, including some Albanian women and children.
In May 2022, the Albanian government, represented by the Albanian anti-terrorist force, signed an agreement with local Kurdish authorities enabling the return of 13 Albanian women and children who were being held in the Roj camp.
