Australian Assyrian Man Walked Away From His Life to Fight Against ISIS

George Khamis left his comfortable life and fled the country
 to join the fight against the Islamic State.

He left behind his family along with his comfortable job to join the fight against the Islamic State militants in the Middle East.

George Khamis, who has no military background, travelled to Iraq to join an Assyrian militia called Dwekh Nawsha, where he was based just two kilometres away from the IS danger zone in Batnaya.

Appearing on Channel Seven's Sunday Night show, Khamis, who was born in Iraq, said he wanted to join the fight against IS to protect his religious beliefs and family connections.

Sharing a room with six other fighters, the father of two revealed the sleepless nights spent in their own beds with their uniforms on and guns ready to strike at any time.

The foreign fighter, who has lived in Melbourne for 23 years with his wife and their two young children said his family pleaded for his return since fleeing the country.

'It's not an easy thing to make that decision, to come all the way from there to here, far far away in a danger zone,' Khamis said. 'Basically I'm here to defend my land. My people against Islamic State.' With the new terror laws introduced, Australians who join any militant causes overseas could face a lifetime behind bars should they survive and return. But after four weeks of fighting, Khamis booked a flight to Melbourne but was unsure whether he would be allowed back in the country as he made the long trip home.

Khamis, who was born in Iraq, has lived in Melbourne for 23 years with his wife and their two young children.

He was detained in Abu Dabi for several hours and stopped at Melbourne airport for questioning but he was eventually released while his sister waited for his arrival. Sunday Night reports Khamis has not been charged but has been told that authorities will meet with him for further questioning.

'Unfortunately it is very serious and I am still concerned,' Khamis said. More than 90 Australians are understood to have travelled to the Middle East to join militant causes. The revelations come after Northern Territory Labour Party leader Matthew Gardiner reportedly fled the country to join the fight against the IS in January.

The 43-year-old resigned as NT United Voice union secretary and left his wife and their two young children behind to join the Kurdish militants. Meanwhile, Sydney jihadists Mohamed Elomar, Khaled Sharrouf, and teenager Abdullah Elmir - dubbed the Ginger Jihadist - are so far the most high profile Australians to have travelled to the Middle East to fight with Islamic State.

Elmir, a former Condell Park High student, was filmed on the banks of the River Tigris in Iraq last October. The 17-year-old gained notoriety when he declared that ISIS will not stop their murderous campaign 'until the black flag is flying high in every single land' in the YouTube video.While Elomar and Sharrouf have appeared regularly in Islamic State videos. One of which included a beheading of a prisoner. Convicted terrorist Sharrouf served three years and 11 months in prison over his role in the 2005 Pendennis terror plot. He left Australia illegally last year and is believed to be fighting with ISIS.