Australian women linked to the Islamic State group have said they can’t wait to return home to Melbourne – with one revealing she missed ‘lattes’ most of all. 

The group has boarded a Qatar Airways flight back to Australia despite facing possible arrest upon arrival on Thursday night. 

ABC News reporter Bridget Rollason spoke to some of the women at Doha Airport while they were in transit. 

‘They told me they were really looking forward to getting back to Melbourne and said they missed Australia,’ she said. 

‘Some of the children even had Australian accents, despite being born in Syria.

‘When we spoke to the women, they appeared excited about returning home. 

‘One woman told me she missed lattes most of all and was looking forward to having a coffee on Collins Street in Melbourne.

‘We asked how they felt about potentially being arrested, but they declined to comment. One of their uncles told us to stop filming and stop speaking to them. 

The group has boarded a Qatar Airways flight back to Australia despite facing possible arrest upon arrival (pictured, the women at Doha airport) 

One of the women returning to Australia said she had missed Melbourne coffee the most (pictured, a barista in Brunswick East, Melbourne)

‘We were only able to have a brief conversation before they boarded the flight.’

The group consists of four Australian women – grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 54, her two daughters Zahra Ahmad, 33, and former nursing student Zeinab Ahmed, 31, Janai Safar – and their nine children.

Some of the cohort will land in Sydney while the rest will touch down in Melbourne.

The women and children spent two weeks in Syria’s capital after leaving the Al Roj refugee camp in the north, where they had lived for seven years.

They spoke about their hopes for life in Australia as they boarded a connecting flight in Doha on Thursday morning. 

‘We just want our children to be safe. It was like hell (in Syria) for them,’ one of the woman told ABC News.

‘One of the boys has an Australian accent, even though he’s never been to Australia,’ another told the publication. 

Officers from the Australian Federal Police are expected to take at least two of the women into custody upon arrival at the airport.

‘ISIS brides’ refers to women recruited by the Islamic State and moved to Iraq or Syria to marry fighters and raise children 

The children who return will be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support, and countering violent extremism programs, the force said.

It comes following reports it would cost around $2million each to monitor the ISIS brides once back in Australia. 

This massive cost is predicted for high-risk individuals who may require 24-hour surveillance by two police or security personnel. 

Authorities warn that any prosecutions or court‑ordered supervision would add further costs to the public purse.

Estimated monitoring costs are based on similar cases in NSW, where convicted extremists were placed on Extended Supervision Orders by the Supreme Court after judges found they posed an ‘unacceptable risk’ to public safety.

Those orders can impose electronic ankle monitoring, curfews, unannounced home visits, strict movement controls, drug and alcohol testing, and constant scrutiny of phones and laptops – measures requiring significant manpower and funding.

When asked by the Daily Mail about the cost of monitoring, Anthony Albanese refused to comment, repeating that authorities are not providing assistance. 

 He also did not respond when asked if his government expects other Australian families to follow the group now that refugee camps are being closed in Syria. 

The children who return will be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support, and countering violent extremism programs, the force said.

When asked by the Daily Mail about the cost of monitoring these individuals, Albanese refused to comment, repeating that authorities are not providing assistance.

He also did not respond when asked if his government expects other Australian families to follow the group now that refugee camps are being closed in Syria. 

The group of 13 is the third contingent of families linked to ISIS who have returned to Australia. Eight orphaned children came back under Scott Morrison in 2019. 

Four women and 13 children were then allowed into the country by the Albanese government three years later.