ByREUTERS

Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians from a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State terrorists in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.

Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been released to their families, who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus.

The Roj camp holds more than 2,000 people from 40 nationalities, most of them women and children.

A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with people in Sweida, on July 17, 2025.
A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with people in Sweida, on July 17, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Orhan Qereman)

Suspect ISIS terrorists held at Roj camp

Thousands of people believed to be linked to Islamic State terrorists have been held at Roj and a second camp, al-Hol, since the jihadist group was driven from its final territorial foothold in Syria in 2019.

Syrian government forces seized swathes of northern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in January, before agreeing to a ceasefire on January 29.

The US military last week completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male Islamic State terrorists from Syria to Iraq.