Australians detained in Syria after gun parts found in toy

CANBERRA - Four Australian women have been detained while trying to board a plane in Syria, reportedly after gun parts were found inside a child's toy.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) said two women from Victoria and two from NSW were with two Iraqi women when they were detained at Damascus airport on Tuesday.

All six were of Iraqi origin, the department said.

A DFAT spokesman would not confirm media reports that the group was detained after a disassembled gun was found inside a toy being carried by a child with the women.

The ABC has quoted a Syrian police source and a diplomatic source as saying the women entered the airport in the Syrian capital with a child.

The women were reportedly trying to board a flight bound for Australia.

The DFAT spokesman said one of the Australian women was accompanied by her son.

"Consular officials from Cairo are seeking to confirm the reports and to provide consular assistance to the group," he said.

Syrian police were questioning the women, the ABC reported.

The ABC later reported that Syrian authorities were investigating whether the women might have been involved in a plot to hijack the plane.

But it was unclear if any hijacking plot would have been activated between Damascus and Bahrain, where the plane was due to stop over, or between Bahrain and the final destination in Australia.

Authorities were now looking for a man who dropped the women off at the airport in Damascus, the ABC reported.

A Syrian police source told the broadcaster that seven Iraqi women carrying Australian passports were involved.

That is at odds with DFAT's statement saying four Australian women, of Iraqi origin, had been detained along with two Iraqi women.

- AAP