GARDAÍ STEP UP SURVEILLANCE OF JIHADIS
A GROUP of 12 Irish-based jihadis will now be ‘closely monitored’ to gauge their reaction to the atrocity in New Zealand, amid fears of a violent reaction from Isis terrorists.
The Irish Daily Mail can reveal that gardaí have identified a dozen Muslim extremists, most of whom are not Irish-born, who are currently on a ‘watch list’.
Gardaí began an ‘immediate review’ of Irishbased jihadis ‘within hours’ of the New Zealand attack, sources say.
It is understood that the force has placed 12 individuals an ‘unofficial watch list’ because of their strong links to international terror groups, mainly Isis and Al-Qaeda.
One particular individual, who international security agencies informed gardaí about in recent years, is currently fighting his deportation.
This man had close links to Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi who was responsible for several suicide bombings and beheadings in Iraq before he was killed.
Jihadi fanatics are monitored by the Counter-Terrorism International Unit, set up within the Crime and Security section of the gardaí in 2014.
A well-placed source said: ‘The attack in New Zealand was an Islamophobic atrocity. The world is appalled, but there is a concern, of course, about the reaction of Isis sympathisers in Ireland. So they are now all being closely watched.’
The gardaí considers that it has a ‘very positive relationship’ with Muslim leaders in Ireland.
Security chiefs said they have no specific information to raise Ireland’s threat level.