Australian woman charged over travel to Syria to join Islamic State

FILE - Unidentified women walk between tents in a section of the camp housing Australian family members of suspected Islamic State militants in the Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Feb. 18, 2026. Baderkhan Ahmad/AP hide caption toggle caption Baderkhan Ahmad/AP MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian mother of four was held in custody after she appeared in a court on Thursday charged with traveling to Syria and joining the Islamic State group. Rayann El Houli, 34, was arrested at her Melbourne home eight months after she returned to Australia via Lebanon with her children and another woman, police and her lawyer said. The arrest came two days after seven women and 12 children linked to IS returned to Australia from a Syrian refugee camp against the wishes of the Australian government. Three weeks ago, four women and nine children in similar circumstances returned from the same Roj camp for displaced people, which is located near the area where the frontiers of Syria, Turkey and Iraq converge. Three of the four women were charged on arrival with slavery and terrorism offenses and remain in custody. All the women who returned from Syria this month remained under police investigation. Another woman, who accompanied El Houli to Australia from Lebanon, also was under investigation, Australia Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Hilda Sirec said. A period of time passing without charges does indicate investigations have ceased, Sirec noted. …