UPDATED: 17:18

Henry McKean speaks to members of the Irish Muslim community following this morning's news.

The Taoiseach has insisted that all Irish citizens around the world are entitled to consular assistance after a Dublin man was captured by a group fighting ISIS in Syria.

45-year-old Alexandr Ruzmatovich Bekmirzaev is originally from Belarus; however he lived and worked in Dublin for about 10 years before leaving in 2013 for the Middle East.

The Kurdish backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said he was one of five men arrested when patrols targeted a terror cell at Deir ez-Zor on December 30th.

The group said ISIS is now “cornered in a small area” of Syria “after being cleared from large swathes of territory it once held.”

It said it made the arrests after breaking up a terror ring that was preparing to attack civilians who were fleeing the war zone.

Gardaí have said they were monitoring Mr Bekmirzaev while he was living in Ireland after authorities received information suggesting he was an active supporter of radical Islamist Groups. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrests - and will provide the appropriate assistance if asked to do so.

Speaking during his visit to Mali in West Africa, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he's being kept informed of the situation.

“The information we have is that an Irish passport holder – an Irish citizen – has been taken into custody; has been held in Syria,” he said.

“We don’t know the details of that so I can’t comment on it in any detail.

“What I will say is that any Irish citizen around the world is entitled to consular assistance and will get that.”

Security and Defence analyst Declan Power says it's worrying that he was able to get an Irish passport.

“It damages the credibility of the Irish passport when people like that show up in situations like we have seen where they are fighting for not just a cause but for one that is so odious and so at odds with our way of life,” he said