A FORMER Wollongong University student who has fought with a declared terrorist organisation in Syria says he has taken his wife and children to the war-torn country.
The comments emerged as Attorney-General George Brandis renewed warnings that Australians fighting in the conflict could pose a terrorist threat if and when they returned to Australia.
The warning followed revelations that several Australians - including Illias Ayub, the son of "jihad sheila" Rabiah Hutchinson and a former Jemaah Islamiah cell leader - have been promoting their involvement in the civil war online.
One of the men fighting in Syria, who uses the alias Abu Al Hassan and has described himself as a mujahid with the al-Qa'ida linked Jabhat al-Nusra group, told The Australian he left Australia about 18 months ago to defend Sunni Muslims from oppression.
"My wife is here (and) my kids," Hassan said in an online interview with The Australian. "Our cause in Syria is not only in Syria. Where ever there is oppression on Muslims it becomes and (sic) obligation to defend the lives, wealth and honour of the Muslims."
The ability for entire families to enter Syria has also raised questions on the power of the Australian government, along with countries bordering Syria such as Turkey and Lebanon, to restrict travel to the warzone.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said it was illegal for any Australian to fight, provide funding, training, or supply weapons to either side of the conflict.
When asked if he still fought with Jabhat al-Nusra or was engaged in daily combat operations, Hassan said: "No comment."
Mr Ayub, who uses the name Mohammed Ayub online, began posting photos of himself holding weapons nearby the flag of al-Qa'ida offshoot the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham on Facebook nearly a year ago. He has received public messages of support from his parents, who are also believed to be overseas.
Hassan said he did not fear being labelled a terrorist or the threat of jail in Australia, suggesting he would never return. "I care not what a kafir (disbeliever) calls me, and who said I will returned (sic) to Australia," he said.
Hassan said the Syrian people had embraced him and his family when they arrived, rejecting any suggestion that the reputation of Australians being loud drunkards affected his initial relationships.
He has claimed to have graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2012 from an IT-related degree, with a focus on computer network security.
A university spokeswoman and graduates from the class of 2012 said they did not know the identity of the man.
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