ISIS brides: Hodan Abby, one of the first Australians to join Islamic State in Syria is the last left behind

Hodan Abby was one of the first Australian women to travel independently to Syria at the height of the Islamic State’s rise. More than a decade later, she has become the last to leave.

Ms Abby – who left western Sydney for Syria as an aspiring jihadi bride more than a decade ago – cannot return to Australia after the Albanese government imposed a Temporary Exclusion Order on her.

The 30-year-old was prevented from boarding a flight to Australia this week alongside the final cohort of Australian women and children who had been detained for years in the al-Roj camp.

Ms Abby and her daughter had secured plane tickets and hoped to return to Australia with the final cohort, but were stopped from boarding a flight in Damascus on Monday night.

The other seven women and 12 children landed in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday night.

Ms Abby’s exclusion order created an agonising dilemma involving her daughter, who is not subject to the ban.

Nine newspapers reported Ms Abby had the option of sending her daughter back to Australia with the rest of the group, but chose not to.

The outlet has also revealed fresh details about the pair’s medical conditions.

The little girl reportedly has a “series of debilitating medical conditions” caused by shrapnel that has been lodged in her body for most of her life.

Medical records seen by the outlet reveal she is suffering from chronic headaches, reduced mobility, developmental challenges and potentially permanent paralysis if the shrapnel is not removed soon.

The nine-year-old’s medical records show she has shrapnel lodged in her pelvis, foot and head, as a result of a nearby bomb blast when she was 11 months old.

The injuries have significantly impacted her development and mobility, and she needs to be physically carried.

Ms Abby reportedly also has shrapnel lodged in her chest, close to her lungs, and struggles to breathe.

Ms Abby vanished from Lakemba in late 2014 when she was 18 alongside her best friend, Hafsa Mohamed, who was 20.

The two young women from Sydney’s Somali community told their families they were going on holiday before boarding flights to Turkey and crossing into Syria.

In the months before leaving Australia, Mohamed – a former childcare worker – openly posted extremist material online praising jihad and martyrdom.

In a series of social media posts, Hafsa spoke of her support for the death cult and said she was “proud to be a disgrace as long as I’m an Enemy to Shias.”

“An Ideal Muslimah Must be a loving daughter, an obedient wife and a gentle Mother! I want to raise lions who will be thorns in the hearts of the enemies, Lol that’s my dream goal in sha Allah,” she wrote.

“As long as the Brother prays the five daily prayers, reads and follows the guidance of the Quran and implements it into his daily life ... has a beard ... then I’m willing to marry him.”

In one 2014 post, she said she wanted to “marry a Mujahid (jihad fighter) and die along with him as a martyr”.

“How great to be martyred for the sake of Allah and going into a transaction with him by giving him your life and he will repay you with Jannah,” she wrote.

“If any mature guy wanting to go to Syria or Palestine would propose I would accept without a thought though he should be on his deen and must have a beard.

“Pray that my dream of going to Syria is fulfilled. I want to bring it up with my mum but I’m afraid to do so … Australia is nice but I would rather be in Syria.”

After the young women left Australia, Mohamed’s devastated family sent relatives to Turkey in an attempt to find her and convince her to come back. Ms Abby’s parents also travelled to the Middle East searching for their daughter.

At one stage, Ms Abby reportedly spoke to her parents by phone but refused to return to Australia.

Mohamed was killed in Syria in 2015, leaving Ms Abby alone in the war zone.

She later married an Islamic State fighter and gave birth to a daughter in August 2016.

After the collapse of Islamic State in 2019, Ms Abby and her daughter were detained in the al-Roj camp in northeast Syria, where thousands of women and children linked to ISIS have spent years living in harsh desert conditions under Kurdish guard.

In 2021, Ms Abby told Nine newspapers she had agreed to be under a Terrorism Control Order, which would give the government powers to monitor her.

Her father, Abby Elmi Abane, who migrated to Australia from Kenya in the late 1990s, also pleaded publicly for the Australian government to intervene.

He maintains Ms Abby regrets travelling to Syria and has renounced extremist beliefs.

“The children, my granddaughter, have been living in these conditions for years. Help is overdue,” he told the newspapers.

He said his granddaughter was “unable to walk properly and she is in pain”.

“Her mum often has to carry her, but she is getting bigger and she can’t carry her forever,” he said.

“I plead with the Minister who has the ability to bring them home: they are Australian. These children are innocent. They need protection.”

Mr Abane has been unreachable this week.

Humanitarian organisations, including Save the Children, also urged Australia to repatriate Ms Abby and her daughter because of the child’s worsening medical condition.

But in February Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke imposed a TEO on Ms Abby following advice from security agencies.

The grounds for the TEO have not been revealed but the order can be used if authorities believe restricting a person’s return would help prevent terrorism-related activity or reduce security risks linked to politically motivated violence.

On Tuesday, The Australian revealed Ms Abby’s family had engaged Birchgrove Legal principal solicitor Moustafa Kheir to challenge the Temporary Exclusion Order.

Mr Kheir has not returned The Nightly’s calls.

The order remains in force until February 2028 unless the government grants Abby a return permit or a court overturns the decision.

Under Australia’s counter-terrorism laws, a person subject to a TEO can apply to the Home Affairs Minister for a return permit allowing them to re-enter Australia under strict conditions.

Minister Burke’s office did not respond to questions.

Earlier this month, four women and nine children also returned to Australia.