CANBERRA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that the government is open to helping terrorists' children return to their native home.
Hoda Sharrouf, the 16-year-old daughter of Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, recently begged for her and her siblings, 17-year-old Zaynab and eight-year-old Hamzeh, to be returned to Australia after the three were found in a Syrian refugee camp.
Addressing the issue, Morrison on Friday said his government was working with the Red Cross to get the three children out of Syria.
"I'm not going to put any Australian life at risk to extract people from these conflict zones," he told reporters.
"But where there are Australians who are caught up in this situation particularly as innocent children, we will do what I think Australians would expect us to do on their behalf."
He said that if the children get into a position where they can return to Australia, the government "would follow the normal processes for issuing of travel documents."
Khaled Sharrouf left the country in 2013 to fight for IS in Syria. He was joined by his wife, Tara Nettleton, and his five children later.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Nettleton died of medical complications in 2015. Of their children, only three have survived. Sharrouf was killed by an airstrike in 2017.
Speaking to Fairfax Media on Friday, Hoda Sharrouf said that she and her siblings had forgiven their mother and father for dragging them into a war zone.
"I want to see my brother grow up as a normal kid," she said.
"I want to see my nieces with a happy life with good treatment. I want to see my sister give birth safely.
"We're Australians too. Australia needs to do something about it. They need to step up," she said.
