Irish soldiers face deployment inside war-torn Syria

Irish soldiers could be deployed in war-torn Syria before the end of the year, even though the country has become the centre of a new Cold War-era battle between Russia, the US, Britain, France, and their proxy allies.

Irish troops withdrew from a UN camp 25km inside Syria in August 2014 after they and fellow UN peacekeepers came under sustained attack from al-Qaeda-linked Islamic extremists, amid a war in the region which has seen multiple factions fighting each other, including Islamic State (IS).

However, the Irish contingent did not leave until they bravely fought their way through the insurgent lines and freed 81 Filipino soldiers who had been under siege for three days.