Irish jihadis dead... or still in warzones

MANY of the 30 Irish jihadis who joined Islamic fighters in Syria and Iraq are now dead, a Garda officer in charge of national security has revealed.

Others are missing and some have moved on to other ‘theatres of war’ such as the Philippines and North Africa, Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan told an Interpol conference yesterday.

He said that the majority of the jihadis had not returned to Ireland, but some of their relatives, who had witnessed appalling atrocities in Syria and Iraq, now posed a bigger challenge.

This was an issue for a social welfare and educational services to ensure that people coming from the Middle East, and who had experienced war, did not feel marginalised.

However they are also aware of the threat, and Mr O’Sullivan said gardaí continue to monitor a small number of jihadi suspects who still live here, and they are now much better positioned to respond to a terror attack than they were four years ago.

He was speaking at the opening of the 46th Interpol European regional conference, in Santry, Dublin.

Speaking at the same conference, Secretary General of Interpol Jurgen Stock said that while the international terrorist threat is now more complex than ever, Ireland was not seen as a weak link but as a strong contributor to the security of Europe.