Irish police hold suspected IS bride on return to Dublin

Irish police were on Monday questioning a former soldier who became a suspected Islamic State group (IS) bride in Syria.

Lisa Smith, 38, was arrested at Dublin Airport on Sunday after being deported from Turkey along with her two-year-old daughter, officials said.

"An Irish citizen (38-year-old female) arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences following her deportation from Turkey remains detained," police said in a statement on Twitter.

Ireland's Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said "established procedures" were being followed to care for her child.

"This is a sensitive case and I want to reassure people that all relevant state agencies are closely involved," he added.

Flanagan noted that personnel with experience in "the complex issue of radicalisation" were part of the multi-agency team working on the case.

Smith, a member of the Irish Defence Forces until 2011, reportedly went to war-plagued Syria in 2015 after converting to Islam.

She is thought to have been captured and detained by armed forces in northern Syria earlier this year, according to reports.

In a subsequent media interview from the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria, Smith said she had joined IS but did not fight for them.

She added that a British jihadist, Sajid Aslam, who had died in fighting earlier this year, was the father of her daughter.

Belfast-based Phoenix Law firm said it had successfully secured the repatriation of Smith and her child.

"Lisa is now being questioned by Gardai (police) for alleged offences committed overseas, and to which we are providing advice," it said on Twitter.

Her lawyer Darragh Mackin said the conditions Smith had been kept in were "unsuitable and incompatible with international human rights standards".