Missile arms refused to Irish troops in line of fire

Irish troops were sent into the highly-dangerous UN mission in the Golan Heights without missiles that military sources said would have been a "game changer" in any fire-fight with Islamist rebels.

Instead, the Javelin missiles, which cost €70,000 each, remained back in the Curragh Camp in Co Kildare while Irish peacekeepers armed with just machine guns and rifles were caught up in a dramatic gun battle with al-Qaeda-linked rebels.

The revelation comes just weeks after Irish soldiers managed to rescue trapped fellow UN Filipino troops who were surrounded by rebels belonging to the al-Nusra Front militants.

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