{"id":56429,"date":"2026-07-23T01:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/56429\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T01:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:14:10","slug":"labor-tight-lipped-on-when-it-knew-dr-jihad-was-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/56429\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor tight-lipped on when it knew \u2018Dr Jihad\u2019 was alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A senior member in Anthony Albanese\u2019s government has kept tight-lipped on what Labor knew and when about the status of an Australian ISIS fighter found alive after being thought dead for almost a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Perth-born pediatrician Tareq Kamleh, dubbed \u201cDr Jihad\u201d, joined the Islamist militant group at its peak last decade.<\/p>\n<p>His family and authorities believed he was killed in the bloody Raqqa siege in Syria in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>However, The Australian revealed this week that he was among 13 Australian men locked up in an Iraqi prison hoping to be repatriated.<\/p>\n<p>The paper also reported on Thursday that Australian officials, including intelligence services, learnt Kamleh was alive in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who is privy to classified briefings as a National Security Committee member, would neither confirm nor deny when asked about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government hasn\u2019t and won\u2019t be providing any assistance to any Australian who made the choice to join a terrorist organisation,\u201d he told the ABC\u2019s Radio National.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been really clear that for some individuals in this cohort, returning to Australia would mean facing the full force of the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked point blank if the Albanese government knew Kamleh was alive, Mr Chalmers insisted \u201cthe only details I have are the details in the story\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Australian spoke to a source who claimed to have briefed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation on Kamleh\u2019s status in 2022 and again last year.<\/p>\n<p>DFAT decided to \u201cstay out of it\u201d and \u201cnot get involved\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathon Duniam said if the Albanese government knew, it \u201cshould have informed the public\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Also speaking to the national broadcaster, he said Kamleh \u201cis a great risk to Australia\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the fact that the government, according to these reports, was aware but they\u2019d not shared that information, nor it appears done anything about it, is concerning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Duniam said the Albanese government should have used the information to \u201cprepare for an attempt to return to Australia\u201d, such as using temporary exclusion order to stop Kamleh getting a passport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, we know as a citizen, Dr Kamleh has the right to return to Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI and my party have grave concerns with that, and I\u2019m sure many Australians do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if the government have sat on their hands and done nothing to prepare for this situation, then that is a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Foreign Minister Penny Wong \u201cshould be telling us what they knew and when\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Read related topics:<a class=\"topic_tag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news.com.au\/topics\/anthony-albanese\" data-tgev-container=\"story-topic-links\" data-tgev-label=\"Anthony Albanese\" data-tgev-order=\"1\" data-tgev-metric=\"npv\" data-tgev=\"event10\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Albanese<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A senior member in Anthony Albanese\u2019s government has kept tight-lipped on what Labor knew and when about 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