An Australian doctor who left the country to serve with the Islamic State group in Syria probably won’t survive the experience, the assistant defence minister predicts.

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Dr Tareq Kamleh has said he has no intention of returning home where he would face likely prosecution.

“This paediatrician is not on some holiday in the Maldives, he’s in the middle of war zone and it’s highly likely he won’t survive,” Stuart Robert told Sky News on Monday.

“I no longer consider myself an Australian,” Kamleh said in a Facebook post.

“I anticipated an arrest warrant, hence why I left in secret.”

In the post, which was addressed to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), Kamleh said he intends to stay in Syria, and denied he has a “malicious character”.

“It is this injustice within the Australian judicial system that was a catalyst for me to leave.”