The nine-member ISIS cell allegedly collected weapons, transported explosives, and carried out other activities supporting the terrorist group, according to Damascus's Interior Ministry.
ISIS remains a threat to Syria, increasingly relying on small-scale attacks, covert operations, and decentralized cells to target security forces, public facilities, and local communities.
DOJ officials said the suspects allegedly sent more than $2,000 to fund ISIS weapons targeting US service members.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government was not assisting their travel and that any who have committed crimes "can expect to face the full force of the law."
Seven Australian women and 14 children recently arrived in Damascus from the Roj camp in northeast Syria, marking the departure of the last known Australian group from camps for ISIS-linked families.
Investigators say one of the key figures is Omer Deniz Dundar, who is linked to the planning of the deadly 2015 bombing at Ankara’s main train station.
Foreign fighters and sleeper cells remain a security concern as the group tries to revive its networks after years of territorial collapse.
The attack, which took place on May 1, 2026, revived memories of the group’s past hit-and-run operations targeting carefully selected religious and military figures.
Leadership messaging points to internal discipline and network survival rather than renewed territorial expansion.
“The United States on Monday began withdrawing from Qasrak Base in Hasaka, northeastern Syria (Rojava), transferring equipment to Iraq,” Rudaw Kurdish media reported.
The terrorist group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol.
