Irish officials will not have their lives endangered to rescue Isis bride Lisa Smith and her daughter from a camp in Syria, the Justice Minister has said.
Charlie Flanagan said the State are continuing to work out the best way to offer consular assistance to the Dundalk, Co Louth native and her two year old daughter.
Mr Flanagan said: “This is a very sensitive issue. But I will say that anybody that goes to Syria or anybody that’s engaging with Isis, doesn’t act as a tourist or doesn’t go there on their holidays.
“There is a child involved and my understanding is that consular assistance has been requested of the Irish state in respect of a woman and child.
“However, it’s fair for me to say we won’t be sending people to Syria. We won’t be endangering the lives of any of our citizens.
“Consular assistance was sought and we are working out the modalities as to how best that assistance can be provided, having regarded the fact that it will not be directly provided by Irish officials.
“We would be relying on the good will of others be it the Americans, the French, anybody involved in the region but we will not be going in.”
When asked on RTE’s Today with Sean O’Rourke show if he agrees with his party colleague, Regina Doherty that Ms Smith should be brought home, Mr Flanagan said: “Well I think being brought home and allowed home are two different things.
“However, if the two people come home, the same restrictions will apply to anyone coming from that region and that is that there are grave and serious security concerns.
“I’m the Minister for justice, my fundamental duty and obligation is the protection of our citizens here in this State.
“And I would expect that if anybody comes back from that region that will be required to cooperate fully with the rule of law here.”
Mr Flanagan’s comments come just days after Lisa Smith said she’s “not going to kill anyone” if she returns to Ireland.
The 38-year-old also rejected suggestions that she was a terrorist.
Ms Smith travelled to Syria three years ago and is stuck in the squalid Al-Hawl refugee camp on the Syrian border with her two-year-old daughter.
The former Air Corps steward, who joined ISIS in 2015 has now claimed that she never picked up a gun since joining ISIS, and denied training young girls to fight for the group.
She told BBC Radio 4: “Do I have any intentions to do anything? No, I’m just interested in trying to bring my daughter up and get her educated.
“I don’t even think I’m radicalised, all I know is I came to Islamic State and I failed.
“At the beginning I didn’t come to kill anyone, when I was there I didn’t kill anyone, and when I go home I’m not going to kill anyone. I just think I’m the same, you know.”
