CIRA and RIRA Join Ranks in Ireland – Raises Threat Level

CIRA and RIRA Join Ranks in Ireland: Threat at Highest Level Since 1998 – Jenni Hesterman

Hidden in the news last week – a 250 pound bomb exploded in front of a court house in Newry, Northern Ireland on 23 Feb.

Reminiscent of a period known as “The Troubles” when IRA bombings were a regular occurrence in the UK, police received a message from the bombers and were able to clear the area just minutes before the device went off.

Takeaways from this bombing:

– Officials in Ireland know that due to the sophistication of the bomb and other data not released to the public that the CIRA and RIRA are now sharing tactics and have “crossfertilized”.

– Police were told the bomb was set to go off in 30 minutes, the actual explosion was 17 minutes after the call. Whether this was an attempt to also target first responders is unknown, but worthy of noting.

– This is the first large car bomb attack since the deadly Omagh attack in 1998 and the bombing of a police station in 2000.

– Other smaller attacks are taking place across Northern Ireland, including a live mortar left outside of a police station last week, and a car bomb that killed a police officer. The attacks are widespread and persistent.

Why should we care about the increased terrorist activity in Ireland?

Read Full Article To Find Out

Jenni Hesterman - Counter Terror Forum

Jenni Hesterman is a retired Air Force colonel, a contributing editor for The Counter Terrorist magazine, a full professor of counter terrorism studies at American Military University and a senior Analyst for the MASY Group, a global intelligence and risk management firm.

In addition to this, she is the author of the blog: www.counterterrorforum.com and contributor to National Terror Alert.

Her blog, Counter Terror Forum highlights items of interest regarding threats to national security, terrorism, transnational crime, organized crime, and gangs.

The site also serves to support the law enforcement and intelligence community with open source reporting and analysis.