Australian jihadist reportedly captured in final IS stronghold in Syria

An Australian-born jihadist, Mahir Absar Alam, 26, has reportedly been captured by the forces who overran the so-called Islamic State's last enclave in Syria last week.

An Australian man has been reportedly captured by Kurdish-led forces in Syria.

An Australian man has been reportedly captured by Kurdish-led forces in Syria. Source: The New York Times

An Australian jihadi has apparently been captured by US-backed coalition forces in the battle for the

Mahir Absar Alam, who was born in Australia and raised in the small SA country town of Loxton, was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces this month, sources told The Australian.
An Australian man has been reportedly captured by Kurdish-led forces in Syria.
An Australian man has been reportedly captured by Kurdish-led forces in Syria. Source: The New York Times
Alam, 26, who had been living in Melbourne, is said to have joined IS in 2014 four weeks after the militant group declared its "caliphate".
He is said to have taken the nom de guerre Abu Salim al-Australi and was known to Australian security agencies, the paper reports.

The revelation comes as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has made clear the government would prefer jihadis are dealt with far from Australian shores.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton doesn't want Australian Jihadis returning home.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton doesn't want Australian Jihadis returning home. Source: AAP
"However, the Morrison government is determined to deal with these people as far from our shores as possible and ensure that any who do return do so with forewarning and into the hands of appropriate agencies," a spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said earlier this month.

US President Donald Trump has urged various countries to take back their nationals, but other countries have followed Australia's example by stripping them of their citizenship so they can return home.


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Published 28 March 2019 6:02am
Updated 28 March 2019 7:07am


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