Aussie jihadists leave IS, want to return home: reports

Three Australians who joined the terrorist group Islamic State in the Middle East have reportedly admitted to having second thoughts and are attempting to return home.

News Corp reported on Tuesday that legal representatives for the men have approached the Australian government, seeking clarification about the penalties the men would face on return to Australia.

Australian citizens who enter a "declared area" without an explicit reason face up to 10 years' jail term upon return to Australia. Parts of Syria and Iraq that are dominated by the Islamic State are "declared areas."

One of the men, known as Abu Ibrahim, has told Australian authorities that he could de-radicalise would-be jihadists by sharing his experience.

Ibrahim told a United States television network in February that the reality of life in the Islamic State was not what he had anticipated.

"A lot of people when they come they have a lot of enthusiasm about what they've seen online, what they've seen on YouTube," the man told CBS.

"They see it as something a lot grander than what the reality is. It's not all military parades or victories," he added.

A lawyer for one of the men, Rob Stary, said he expected his client to be charged with travelling to a "declared area," but his client still had something to offer in way of deradicalising others.

"It seems to me that there's a golden opportunity that may be lost," Stary told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). " The counter-narrative can be used to discourage other people from going to those hotspots."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday that there was no place in society for participants in terrorist movements. Endi