British Army Prepares For Irish Dissident Attack As UK Raises Threat Level For IRA Terror Campaign
The British Army has been told to prepare for a terror attack from Irish dissidents after the MI5 security agency raised the UK threat level fearing an attack from the New IRA or another splinter dissident group.
Britain raised its terror threat level from “moderate” to “substantial” as MI5 issued warnings to British Army cadets to check their cars for improvised bombs, British Home Secretary Theresa May told the Express.
“This means that a terrorist attack is a strong possibility and reflects the continuing threat from dissident republican activity.”
The British security agency didn’t identify a specific plot against the UK, but the country’s security experts have long feared a restart of the campaign of terror waged by Irish dissidents since the 1970s.
Director General of MI5 Andrew Parker warned the country the threat from Irish terrorist groups is actually four times greater than the security figures suggest, according to the Telegraph.
UK security services assess the threat posed by armed Irish groups & increase terror threat level to 'substantial'. https://t.co/ZX1XvJKewv
— Dr. Rizwaan Sabir (@RizwaanSabir) May 11, 2016
Despite the 1998 Good Friday peace deal that disarmed the IRA, there remains a number of dissident groups in Northern Ireland, including the New IRA, which was behind the car bombing of a prison officer in March, May told the Telegraph.
“The reality is that they command little support. They do not represent the views or wishes of the vast majority of people, both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, who decisively expressed their desire for peace in the 1998 Belfast Agreement and have been transforming Northern Ireland ever since.”
IRA plotting to murder Brit Army cadets: Members warned of 'imminent' threat of car bombs https://t.co/ukAAiY1akx pic.twitter.com/NhlH4jkMMG
— The Sun (@TheSun) May 13, 2016
After the March bombing, the dissident group issued a statement vowing to continue its war of terror, according to the Telegraph.
“[We are] determined to take the war to the age-old enemy of our nation.”
The New IRA is the latest form of the Provisional IRA (PIRA), which aimed to unify a divided Ireland in a revolution against the UK. The original IRA fought the British from 1916 to 1921 when the Republic of Ireland was separated from British-controlled Northern Ireland.
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In the 1970s, violence erupted again, continuing until 1997, when a ceasefire was reached; the Good Friday peace accord took effect April 1998. Some dissident members were unhappy with the disarmament, however, and broke off to form the New IRA and other terror groups. Last year, the Irish dissident groups launched 109 attempted terror attacks in Northern Ireland, Parker told the Daily Caller.
“A real terrorist threat persists in parts of Northern Ireland. For every one of those attacks we and our colleagues in the police have stopped, three or four others coming to fruition.”
“The terror threat in Britain was already at severe for the country as a whole, meaning an attack is highly likely, due to the continuing terror threat presented by the Islamic State.”
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After the Brussels bombings claimed the lives of 32 people earlier this year, a sick ISIS poll conducted through social media showed Islamic State militants considered the UK as the most popular target for their next terror attack.
Now, Britain is once again facing the prospect of a protracted terror campaign waged by not only angry Irish dissidents in the kind of uprising not seen since the 1970s, but also by ISIS militants.
British politician David McNarry, the chairman of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), recently accused the New IRA of training ISIS militants in the proper use of car bombs. Although no connection between the two groups has ever been proved, British security forces remain on alert.
[Photo by Sion Touhig/Getty Images]
