Family of Boy Who Posed With Severed Head Reportedly Seeks to Leave Islamic State

The family of a Khaled Sharrouf, the notorious Australian fighter with the so-called Islamic State (IS) who posted a photo of his young son holding a severed head in Syria, is seeking to return to Australia, according to local media.

On Wednesday, Australia's Fairfax media reported that Sharrouf's wife, Tara Nettleton, wants to come back to Sydney with the couple's five children, after reportedly living in the IS stronghold of Raqqa for several months. Nettleton's mother was reportedly traced on a trip to Malaysia, in what Fairfax reports was an attempt to arrange her daughter and grandchildren's repatriation.

Sharrouf rose to internet infamy in August after sharing the gruesome photo of his son holding a decapitated man's head alongside the caption: "That's my boy" on social media.

Related: Islamic State Suicide Attacks Kills 17 Iraqi Soldiers

US Secretary of State John Kerry called the image "one of the most disturbing, stomach-turning, grotesque photographs ever displayed."

Australian officials have said that Sharrouf flew to Syria in December 2013, and that not long afterwards, his wife and children — three young boys and two teenage daughters — followed via a route that passed through Malaysia.

In responding to the reports of Nettleton's imminent return, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned that the family is likely to face prosecution if they make it back.

"Crime is crime is crime, and criminals will face the full severity of Australian law, whether they're male or female," he said. "I'm afraid you don't get off scot-free just because you say, 'I've seen the error of my ways.'"

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News of the family's possible return came the same week Australia announced that it would strip citizenship from all Australians found to have committed "serious terrorist-related activities" abroad.

The government has already nullified the passports of 110 former Australian citizens it believes fall under this category, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Parliament Monday.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told a local radio station Thursday that despite the children being minors, they could technically still be prosecuted under Australian counter-terror laws.

"The reality is these parents have destroyed the lives of these kids, they can never lead a normal life," Dutton told Radio 2GB.