Islamic State woman who spoke to ITV News after escaping Baghouz named in reports

A member of so-called Islamic State who spoke to ITV News last week as she left Baghouz and claimed to be British has been named in Irish media as 37-year-old Lisa Smith.

The Irish Independent reported that Smith is a former soldier who served on the Irish Government jet and who was from the town of Dundalk in the Republic.

Last week, ITV News spoke to a woman fleeing Baghouz - the last area in Syria which remains under the control of so-called Islamic State.

The woman - who did not reveal her identity - claimed she had fled Britain to join so-called Islamic State in Syria, saying that the caliphate is "not yet over" and does not believe the group will be defeated.

However, in the interview that the woman gave, it was noted that while she said she was from Britain, she had an Irish accent.

The woman said she had fled Baghouz with her young son. Credit: ITV News

According to the Irish Independent, this woman is Smith.

Police in Ireland are now studying the interview.

In the ITV News interview, the woman said she had fled Baghouz with her young son and just a few bags of belongings.

She said her husband - who is British and who she met in Syria - had been killed two months earlier.

Relatives of Smith said they were contacted by gardaí last week about the ITV News report, according to the Irish Independent.

A relative confirmed to the newspaper that they recognised the woman from the ITV News interview.

The newspaper also reported that a relative they had spoken to denied Smith was involved with so-called Islamic State, saying they would have known if that was the case.

They said they were trying to bring her home from Syria and that she had been in "some campsite" there.

"They wanted to confirm that was her and we knew by the voice it was her," the newspaper added.

Lisa Smith was formerly in the Irish Defence Forces. Credit: Tom Conachy

On Saturday, it was reported that a former Irish soldier who converted to radical Islam has been detained in Syria.

Irish police have made contact with the woman's family.

The woman is thought to be from the north-east of the Republic and left the country several years ago.

In a statement, gardaí said: "An Garda Síochána is aware of an Irish woman who left Ireland three or four years ago having become radicalised.

"She was previously a member of the Irish Defence Forces."