Gardaí arrest fighters heading for Syria

Garda security units have conducted searches and arrests to prevent people travelling to Syria or Iraq as the country is described as being “not immune” from a jihadist attack.

In its annual report for 2016, An Garda Síochána said its community programmes in minority communities were reducing “the opportunities for radicalisation”.

However, a leading imam in Ireland, Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri, disagreed, saying that while he welcomed Garda community relations efforts, “it was not enough” and that a more structured anti-radicalisation programme was needed.