SYDNEY, Oct 3, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Six Australian women and children with links to Islamic State (IS) group jihadists have smuggled themselves out of Syria and returned home, with Canberra saying Friday it was "monitoring" their situation.

The group left Syria and were detained in neighbouring Lebanon as they did not have valid travel documents, but were given Australian passports by Canberra's agencies.

A spokesperson for Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong told AFP the government "is not providing assistance and is not repatriating individuals" in Syrian camps holding people suspected of ties to IS members.

"Our agencies have been monitoring these individuals for some time," they added.

"If any of those people find their own way to return, our security agencies are satisfied that they are prepared and will be able to act in the interests of community safety."

The repatriation of the so-called "IS brides" has been controversial in Australia, where some politicians have claimed that women associated with suspected IS jihadists pose a risk to national security.

Others, such as Human Rights Watch, have praised the government for rescuing Australian citizens from "horrific" conditions.

In 2023, a woman rescued from a squalid Syrian detention camp faced court on charges linked to her former husband's role within IS.

Mariam Raad was repatriated in October the previous year as part of a humanitarian mission to free Australian women and children from the notorious camps of Al-Hol and Roj.

The women were in most cases the wives of vanquished IS fighters, who said they were forced or tricked into following their husbands to Syria.