Group of 19 women and children linked to Islamic State due to arrive in Australia

Cohort of 12 children and seven women who were held in a Syrian camp expected to fly into Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday

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A group of 19 Australian women and held in Syria since the defeat of Islamic State will return to Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, bringing an end to seven years of detention while thrusting themselves into a heated political debate about their future.

The cohort of 12 children and seven women left a Syrian detention camp last week before boarding flights home. Most either left Australia more than a decade ago, or were born in Syria or Iraq after their parents travelled to the so-called caliphate.