Alarming Rate of Australian Women and Teens Joining ISIS

Australians are continuing to head to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamic State despite the government’s new anti-terror laws.

The attorney general, George Brandis, has revealed the number of Australian foreign fighters has increased significantly from an estimated 70 last year, to about 90.

Among them were young women and teenagers, a new trend Brandis described as worrying.

“At an earlier time perhaps even six months ago, we were concerned almost entirely about young men, but in a more recent estimate by the national security agencies suggests that a growing number of young women are travelling to participate in that fighting as well,” he said.

“More and more teenagers are being enticed and ensnared by Isil recruiters here in Australia with the false glamour of participating in the civil war on behalf of Isil or Da’esh.”

Parliament last year passed a suite of security laws that, among other things, made it illegal to travel to a declared area without a legitimate excuse. The Al-Raqqa province in Syria has since been declared as a no-go zone by the government.