 Following the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, the Directorate of Military Intelligence significantly expanded their operations both internally and externally to provide the Irish government with a better intelligence picture in relation to terror threats emanating from al-Qaeda and affiliated groups, working with western partners.The 2004 Madrid train bombings (11-M) in Spain and 7 July 2005 London bombings in the United Kingdom also saw an increase in the budget and deployments of Irish intelligence officers.The service came to national and international attention in late 2005, when Arabic-speaking intelligence officers from the Directorate of Military Intelligence were deployed in Iraq, alongside heavily armed Irish Army Rangers, following the kidnapping of Irish journalist Rory Carroll in Baghdad by militants.