Trying to mount a rescue mission into Raqqa in Syria to extract the orphaned children of Australian Islamic State terrorist Khaled Sharrouf and his wife Tara Nettleton is too dangerous and a "mission too far", experts say.
The roads into and out of Raqqa are known to have numerous IS checkpoints and the terrorist group has reportedly been tightening security around the city and stopping anyone trying to leave what it calls the Caliphate.
Neil Fergus, the chief executive officer of Intelligent Risks, which runs operations in the region, said, "It is extraordinary dangerous. It is a military zone. There is no prospect of people going into Raqqa if that is where they are.
"Even if they tried and did not get themselves killed, then they would likely to be added to the long line of hostages being taken by IS," he said.
Intelligent Risks acts on behalf of Red 24, a crisis management group that has been involved in negotiating the release of people kidnapped and stuck in the region.
It has successfully obtained the release of kidnap victims and others, but Mr Fergus said that people trapped there need locals on the ground to help them get out to a place where they can be picked up.
"The negotiating for these things is done outside. The only way out is for a local who is prepared to help to bring them out. But it is a perilous journey."
Mr Fergus said the only thing the Australian government could do was send in a special forces team - but the risk was just too great.
Fairfax Media revealed on Wednesday that Ms Nettleton, a mother-of-five and grandmother-of-one, had died in Raqqa last year from complications after having surgery for appendicitis.
It is understood that she was unable to access lifesaving medical services for her condition.
Ms Nettleton's mother, Karen, has said that she is devastated by the news of the death of her only child. She is also concerned that she cannot be there to look after her grandchildren and great-grandchild.
Sharrouf slipped out of Australia in December 2013 using his brother's passport and joined Islamic State, meeting up with his friend and fellow terrorist, Mohamed Elomar.
Ms Nettleton and their children followed via Turkey soon afterwards.
Sharrouf achieved global notoriety when he tweeted a picture of his son holding the severed head of a Syrian soldier, captioned, "That's my boy."
Sharrouf is believed to have been killed in June last year. The whereabouts of the children is not known, although they were last known to have been living in Raqqa with their mother before she died.
The eldest child, Zaynab, 15, who also goes by the name Umm Ayesha, was married to Elomar, who was also killed last year.
Zaynab gave birth to a baby girl in September last year.
Government sources said that Australia was highly unlikely to send in special forces soldiers, because that would mean a unilateral combat mission in IS's heartland, which would be extremely dangerous and complex.
They said the government did not provide consular services in Syria, meaning that any Australian wanting to get out would typically need to get to neighbouring Turkey.
Even if the Sharrouf family reached a less hostile area than Raqqa, such as a Kurdish-controlled part of the country, there would be little capacity for a rescue, as territory in the north-east of Syria where Raqqa lies frequently changes hands and is subject to rivalries beyond just the IS group and the Kurds.
None of the Sharrouf children had publicly expressed any desire to leave Syria, the sources said.
The sad outcome for the young orphans is regarded by counter-terrorism sources as a case study in how the reality of joining the so-called Caliphate does not live up to the idyllic images portrayed in Islamic State recruitment material, the government sources said.
For instance, the fact that Ms Nettleton is believed to have been given inadequate medical care is at stark odds with the portrayal of the group's hospital system in a video from last year featuring Australian doctor-turned-jihadist Tareq Kamleh, they said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, "The Australian government's capacity to confirm reports of deaths in Syria is extremely limited.
"Due to the extremely dangerous security situation, consular assistance is no longer available in Syria. DFAT travel advice has long listed Syria as a 'do not travel' destination."
Terrorism expert Associate Professor Nick O'Brien, from the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security at Charles Sturt University, said there was not much the government could do openly.
"IS is probably aware that they might be trying to leave and they may be keeping an extra eye on them. The reality is that they are stuck there for the medium to long term," he said.
Professor O'Brien said that the children were victims just like many others.
"They didn't ask to be taken there," he said.
With David Wroe
