Secretary of State: “paramilitaries targeted Newry bank”
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson has this week told the House of Commons how security agencies in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland foiled several potential bombing attacks in cities such as Newry.
Mr Paterson told the House that there had been 13 attacks in Northern Ireland since August 2011 and that an attack in the north was “highly likely”. The secretary also commented by saying the threat level in England, Scotland and Wales was substantial, while Northern Ireland was severe, “Both loyalist and republican groups continue to be involved in a wide range of acts of criminality. Both also continue to carry out paramilitary-style assaults and shootings,” he said.
The Conservative MP also went on to tell the House how paramilitaries targeted a Newry bank using small explosives in the six month period since August. Commenting further on the issue, Mr Paterson said, “The most recent attacks have included the attempted murder of a soldier on January 5th, a pipe bomb recovered at the scene of a fire in west Belfast on January 17th and two pipe bombs set off on January 19th. Many other potential attacks have been prevented by the actions of security and law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border.”
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