(Sydney Morning Herald) Intelligence officials have travelled to Syria in a secret operation to gather information about the Australian families of Islamic State fighters living in a refugee camp in the country’s north as the federal government weighs up a rescue mission.
The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age can reveal that in late September and early October several officials travelled to the al-Roj camp, where 20 Australian women and more than 40 of their children have been living.
The government is now waiting on a report from agencies including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation on whether it is possible to rescue some of them.
