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Australian Medics Join ’ISIL’ in Syria, Iraq

Australian Medics Join ’ISIL’ in Syria, Iraq
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Local Editor

Several Australian medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, had reportedly joined the Takfiri "ISIL" terrorist group in the Middle East, a report said.


Australian Medics Join ’ISIL’ in Syria, Iraq

The report published by the Australian newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" on Monday said a number of medics were believed to be supporting and assisting the terrorist group.

According to the report, senior national security officials had been aware of an increasing trend among medical professionals "who have been lured to the Middle East."

Moreover, the report said the country's national intelligence and spy agencies had for weeks been investigating and monitoring the locations of a number of health workers.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had earlier banned Australian citizens from traveling to two "ISIL" strongholds, namely Syria's northern Raqqa governorate and Iraq's northern Mosul Province. If proven guilty, a court could sentence a person up to ten years in jail for traveling to the two regions.

Furthermore, an Australian national being investigated appeared last week in a video aimed at recruiting doctors, nurses and dentists to join the "ISIL" in Syria and Iraq.

The footage posted online on April 24 purportedly showed Perth doctor Tareq Kamleh calling on other medics to join him in "ISIL" stronghold Raqqa in Syria.

Following the release of the video, a spokesman for Australian Attorney-General George Brandis' department described the recruitment attempt as "vile."

"While we cannot comment specifically on the individual, this is clearly another vile attempt by "ISIL" to try to entice Australians and other Westerners to put themselves and others at risk," the spokesman said.

"Joining "ISIL" does not help the people of Syria and Iraq. It helps a terrorist organization that's on a murderous rampage killing Muslim and non-Muslim people in their way," the spokesman added.

According to government figures released in February, nearly 100 Australians had been fighting alongside and backing terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria and had had their passports revoked.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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