MANY IRISH JIHADIS DEAD IN WAR ON ISIS
Anti-terror chiefs fear lone wolf attack by fighters returning to Ireland
We believe there are a small number in the theatre of war
MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN
DUBLIN YESTERDAY
Minister Charlie Flanagan and acting Garda chief Donal O Cualain MOST of the 30 Irish jihadi fighters who joined ISIS are believed to have been killed, a top anti-terror officer said yesterday.
Assistant Commissioner Michael O’sullivan, in charge of security and intelligence, was speaking at the Interpol European Regional Conference in Dublin.
He told the Irish Mirror his officers most fear a terror massacre from a lone wolf attacker.
Mr O’sullivan added he has tested the Garda response and believes the force will be able to deal with any threat.
Regarding the 30 Irish jihadis that fought for ISIS, he said: “We believe quite a number of those are deceased and some are missing. There are also a small number we still believe to be in the theatre of war.”
Mr O’sullivan said he worries some of the survivors could come back home.
He added: “Of other concerns would be families returning. These may have been families not involved in war but whose children may have witnessed some of the most appalling crimes.
“They will return and become a challenge for a multi-agency report not just for An Garda Siochana but for other departments as well.
“If and when they return, how they are managed from a welfare and education point of view, that is more of a concern at the moment than returning fighters.”
Mr O’sullivan also revealed two incidents have shown the rapid response of armed gardai to a potential terror strike.
He said: “There are two emergency response units standing by on Harcourt Square, and another two armed support units in North Dublin who would be there in seven minutes.
“I’m quite happy with our response and our capabilities. Our capabilities are much, much better than they were four years ago.
“I would have no difficulty in saying we are as well-resourced and equipped as any other country.
“Two examples – one was an incident in a Dart station in south Dublin where an individual had a firearm.
“It was an imitation firearm but we weren’t to know that. The train was stopped, boarded and the individual disarmed in five minutes.
“Another incident in O’connell Bridge where an individual was wielding an axe and the response was four minutes.” He said “live exercises” have found the Garda response to a terror incident in Dublin would be within three minutes. Mr O’sullivan added: “What we found was there were three cars heavily armed, and we Michael O’sullivan looked at a similar target to London Bridge which we identified as Temple Bar, and we found there were three cars within three minutes of the location.”
The expert said gardai are using an in-house “terrorist financing investigation unit” to monitor fundamentalists.
He added one of the challenges for Irish and European law enforcement organisations was the lines between traditional terror organisations and organised crime gangs have blurred.
Mr O’sullivan said: “If you look at the attacks in Belgium and Paris and London, what you see is terrorism facilitated through organised crime, through either the procurement of firearms or the procurement of false documentation.
“Organised crime is now facilitating terrorism, and we would have seen lines of demarcation have become blurred and we see that domestically too.”