May 7, 2026 at 12:53 am Updated May 7, 2026 at 1:32 am

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Airliners carrying Australian women and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State group landed in Australia on Thursday.

A plane reportedly carrying three Australian women and eight children landed in Melbourne, while a separate plane carrying a woman and her son arrived in Sydney soon after.

The Australian government announced on Wednesday that the 13, who have spent years in a Syrian desert camp, planned to return to Australia. Police said the women face potential criminal charges relating to their alleged time in the Islamic State group’s so-called caliphate that spanned Syria and Iraq.

Both Qatar Airways flights took off minutes apart from Doha bound for Australia’s two largest cities.…