A Melbourne man implicated in Australia’s largest terror plot and who subsequently fled the country to fight for Islamic State is among the handful of surviving Australian jihadis stuck in northern Syria.

The Weekend Australian can reveal that Majed Raad, a Lebanese-Australian who was tried and acquitted as part of the 2004 Benbrika terror conspiracy, is among 20-odd alleged jihadis captured by Kurdish authorities.

The Weekend Australian understands he was seized by the Syrian Defence Force following the fall of Baghouz, Islamic State’s last redoubt, in March, suggesting he was prepared to fight to the end.

Read more: The Australian