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Australia arrest warrant for 'IS medic' Tareq Kamleh
18 June 2015
From the section Australia
An arrest warrant has been issued for an Australian doctor who travelled to Syria and is believed to be working with Islamic State (IS).
Tareq Kamleh appeared in an IS propaganda video in April urging other doctors to join him.
The warrant was issued by a court in South Australia and means Mr Kamleh can be arrested upon his return
Anti-terror laws were recently strengthened making it a crime to travel to designated terror hot-spots.
Police allege Mr Kamleh is a member of and recruited for a terrorist organisation and that he entered a designated hot-spot.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says the warrant was issued on the basis of offences allegedly committed in April in the de-facto IS capital of Raqqa in Syria.
'My jihad'
Before joining IS, Mr Kamleh worked in hospitals in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
He is a registered doctor in Western Australia, according to local media reports. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has said it will seek to take action over his registration.
When he appeared in the IS propaganda video, Mr Kamleh said he had travelled to Raqqa to help Syrians.
"I saw this as part of my jihad for Islam to help the Muslims in the area that I could, which is in the medical field," he said in the video.
After the video appeared the Australian government said it was concerning that it was not only fighters joining the militant group.
It is estimated that around 100 Australians are currently fighting for terror groups in the Middle East.
