The Australian mother-in-law of a notorious Islamic State group fighter said today she was "devastated" that police had refused to help bring her five grandchildren home from Syria.
Karen Nettleton's daughter Tara is married to Khaled Sharrouf, who gained global infamy last year when he posted pictures of himself and his seven-year-old son on Twitter holding up the severed heads of soldiers.
News emerged last week that Sharrouf may have died in the same drone attack believed to have killed fellow Australian jihadist Mohamed Elomar, raising concerns about what would happen to his children who were taken to Syria last year.
"My advice to the family is to engage with the proper legal authorities and not to conduct this discussion through the media," Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Wednesday.
