Post by Wasp on Jul 11, 2010 17:08:16 GMT
Gardai foil bomb plot to spark sectarian violence
A MAJOR attempt by dissident republicans to kick-start sectarian violence in the North in a car-bomb attack to coincide with the annual July 12 loyalist demonstrations has been thwarted by gardai.
However, police in the north were last night investigating a small explosion in south Armagh yesterday afternoon. The incident occurred at about 5pm between Belleek and Cullyhanna at a bridge on Carrickrovaddy Road.
Ulster Unionist assembly member Danny Kennedy said he had "no doubt it was an attempt to raise tensions in the area before the Twelfth".
The intended target of the bomb intercepted by gardai is not known -- but it is suspected the dissidents planned a major car-bomb attack on a civilian target inside the North to whip up sectarian tensions as the Orange marching season reaches its highpoint tomorrow, with demonstrations across the North.
A car bomb, believed to have been prepared in Co Louth, was about to be picked up at Ardaghy, above Omeath in the Cooley Peninsula, near the RTE TV mast. It is believed it was then to be driven across the Border.
At the same time, gardai raided a premises at Barn Road in Dunleer and arrested two men. It is understood that four cars, including a BMW, were seized and are being examined.
The operation is almost identical to that used in the series of bombings preceding the Omagh atrocity in August 1998, in which 28 people and near-term twins were killed.
Before Omagh, the dissidents had tested bombs in the Cooley Mountains and it is believed that two bombs were shipped from there into the North for attacks on the towns of Banbridge and Moira in the months before Omagh.
In July 1998, they also attempted to plant a 1,000lb bomb in Portadown to coincide with the demonstrations there.
Gardai were withholding information about their operations but the Garda Press Office said that five men were arrested after shots were fired but would not confirm if gardai were fired on. It is understood members of the heavily armed Emergency Response Unit led the operations.
The five men arrested were being held in Drogheda, Dundalk and Balbriggan Garda Stations. They can be held initially for three days but their detention can be extended with the agreement of a District Court. It is understood one of the men is from the North.
The garda operation was continuing yesterday and a large area of the Cooley Mountains was sealed off. It was not known if the gardai were searching for more people.
Reacting to yesterday's garda operation, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said: "I continue to take the threat from dissidents very seriously and we are working closely with the security services in the North.
"The Gardai and the PSNI are working very closely together, as is evidenced by what unfolded in the last 24 hours," he said.
"Indeed, I spent two hours in discussions yesterday in Carlingford -- not far from the centrepiece of some of last night's incidents -- with the North's Justice Minister, David Ford, where we reviewed policing co-operation and the ongoing crackdown on cross-border criminality."
The dissidents, based in north Louth and south Armagh, have been responsible for several failed bomb and mortar attacks in recent years, the latest being a landmine attack near the south Armagh village of Keady in June.
They attempted to lure members of the PSNI into the area with a report of arson.
Gardai believe that the dissidents formerly styling themselves the "Real" and "Continuity" IRA are working together in the Border area.
A MAJOR attempt by dissident republicans to kick-start sectarian violence in the North in a car-bomb attack to coincide with the annual July 12 loyalist demonstrations has been thwarted by gardai.
However, police in the north were last night investigating a small explosion in south Armagh yesterday afternoon. The incident occurred at about 5pm between Belleek and Cullyhanna at a bridge on Carrickrovaddy Road.
Ulster Unionist assembly member Danny Kennedy said he had "no doubt it was an attempt to raise tensions in the area before the Twelfth".
The intended target of the bomb intercepted by gardai is not known -- but it is suspected the dissidents planned a major car-bomb attack on a civilian target inside the North to whip up sectarian tensions as the Orange marching season reaches its highpoint tomorrow, with demonstrations across the North.
A car bomb, believed to have been prepared in Co Louth, was about to be picked up at Ardaghy, above Omeath in the Cooley Peninsula, near the RTE TV mast. It is believed it was then to be driven across the Border.
At the same time, gardai raided a premises at Barn Road in Dunleer and arrested two men. It is understood that four cars, including a BMW, were seized and are being examined.
The operation is almost identical to that used in the series of bombings preceding the Omagh atrocity in August 1998, in which 28 people and near-term twins were killed.
Before Omagh, the dissidents had tested bombs in the Cooley Mountains and it is believed that two bombs were shipped from there into the North for attacks on the towns of Banbridge and Moira in the months before Omagh.
In July 1998, they also attempted to plant a 1,000lb bomb in Portadown to coincide with the demonstrations there.
Gardai were withholding information about their operations but the Garda Press Office said that five men were arrested after shots were fired but would not confirm if gardai were fired on. It is understood members of the heavily armed Emergency Response Unit led the operations.
The five men arrested were being held in Drogheda, Dundalk and Balbriggan Garda Stations. They can be held initially for three days but their detention can be extended with the agreement of a District Court. It is understood one of the men is from the North.
The garda operation was continuing yesterday and a large area of the Cooley Mountains was sealed off. It was not known if the gardai were searching for more people.
Reacting to yesterday's garda operation, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said: "I continue to take the threat from dissidents very seriously and we are working closely with the security services in the North.
"The Gardai and the PSNI are working very closely together, as is evidenced by what unfolded in the last 24 hours," he said.
"Indeed, I spent two hours in discussions yesterday in Carlingford -- not far from the centrepiece of some of last night's incidents -- with the North's Justice Minister, David Ford, where we reviewed policing co-operation and the ongoing crackdown on cross-border criminality."
The dissidents, based in north Louth and south Armagh, have been responsible for several failed bomb and mortar attacks in recent years, the latest being a landmine attack near the south Armagh village of Keady in June.
They attempted to lure members of the PSNI into the area with a report of arson.
Gardai believe that the dissidents formerly styling themselves the "Real" and "Continuity" IRA are working together in the Border area.