Northern Irish teenager arrested for republican terrorist activity

Youth who is 16 years old detained with three other men after PSNI arrested them under Terrorism Act A teenager is among four men from Derry being detained by police in connection with ongoing dissident republican terrorist activity. The arrests came about after a security operation on the west bank of the city during which armed police officers rammed a vehicle and forced it to halt. The men, aged 54, 42, 23 and a 16-year-old youth were arrested in the Foyle Road area of Northern Ireland’s second city on Tuesday night. They were later taken to the serious crimes suite at Antrim police station for questioning. Derry has been a focal point of dissident republican armed action for the last two years with the Real IRA maintaining several active terror units there. Their targets have ranged from the city’s main police station at Strand Road, a courthouse, two banks and a number of men in nationalist areas the terror group have deemed as “anti-social elements”. Last week the Real IRA was accused of being behind a pipe bomb attack on the home of a man accused of indecent exposure. A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said detectives from the serious crime squad made the arrest under the Terrorism Act. The PSNI spokesman said that a suspected firearm had been taken away for examination. He said that a suspicious object was also discovered by officers during the operation on the Foyle Road and is currently being examined by army bomb experts. A number of residents in the area were temporarily evacuated from the homes, taking refuge at the nearby Brooke Park Leisure Centre. SDLP councillor John Boyle visited the scene and some of those forced from their homes. He said: “From speaking to local people I can confirm that witnesses saw a police vehicle ram another vehicle on the Foyle Road close to Craigavon Bridge, which is quite close to the city centre. The occupants of that vehicle were subsequently apprehended.” Northern Ireland Real IRA UK security and terrorism Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 3, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.