Terrorists being housed in Dundalk... didja ever hear the like?
https://www.thesun.ie/news/4831325/leo-varadkar-lisa-smith-child-return-ireland/INCOMING Irish Defence personnel fly to Turkey to bring IS bride Lisa Smith back to IrelandCraig FarrellJohn Hand
29 Nov 2019, 21:30Updated: 29 Nov 2019, 21:34
IS bride Lisa Smith and her young child are expected to arrive in Ireland as early as Saturday.
A small team of Defence Forces personnel flew out to Turkey on Friday tasked with accompanying the Louth native and her daughter, Rakeya, two, back here.
It is understood that the Islamic State supporter will fly home on a commercial aircraft.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Friday refused to go into details about the return operation but did say Smith’s child “deserves to be protected” when she returns to Ireland.
The former Defence Forces member and her girl had been held in a Syrian camp since February 2019 after escaping the terror group’s last enclave in Baghouz — but this was bombed and she fell into Turkish hands.
The Dundalk woman converted to Islam and travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State in 2015.
The Taoiseach described the situation as “tricky” but added Ireland could not expect authorities in Turkey to hold her permanently.
He said: “It is a tricky situation. And ultimately the child is an Irish citizen and deserves to be protected in my view. Ultimately we seek to protect our citizens.
“Obviously as regards to Lisa Smith, that’s a slightly different situation. But she is our citizen.
“And it wouldn’t be fair to expect the Turkish authorities to hold her indefinitely.”
Plans have been put in place for Smith and her child ahead of their arrival involving the family agency Tusla, the Defence Forces and the gardai.
An Garda Siochana will have the primary responsibility for Smith when she returns, and Commissioner Drew Harris said he was satisfied that the plans in place were appropriate and proportionate.
He added that Ireland did not need a deradicalisation programme because of the relatively small number of Irish people returning from conflict zones.
She tied the knot several times before leaving this country for jihad in Syria.
It’s also understood she is not convinced she will face prison time here despite an ongoing Garda investigation into her activities in Ireland before she left for Syria.
