Australians with alleged IS ties turned back after leaving Syrian camp

Family members of suspected IS militants who are Australian nationals board a van heading to the airport in Damascus during the first repatriation operation of the year, in eastern Syria (Baderkhan Ahmad/AP)

Syrian authorities turned back a group of Australian women and children on Monday after they left a camp in Syria housing people with alleged ties to so-called Islamic State militants in an attempt to head back to their home country.

It was not clear if or when they would be able to complete their journey.