Dissident Republicans are planning a terrorist attack on the G8 summit in Fermanagh this summer according to security experts with Britain’s MI5.
A report in the UK edition of the Sun newspaper claims that MI5 officers have unearthed a plot by the New IRA to target the summit.
The paper says the New IRA knows that a bomb spectacular at the five star Lough Erne hotel would hijack global headlines.
US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are among the world leaders due to attend the meeting in Enniskillen in June.
A Whitehall source told the Sun: “We can’t rule out some cowardly attack.”
British security chiefs believe the renegade IRA could number as many as 700 members.
The report claims that up to five militant groups opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process have joined forces to form the New IRA.
The summit will also be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Canadian PM Stephen Harper, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Italian PM Mario Monti.
A senior Whitehall source said: “We are very confident that the G8 venue is completely secure.
“But we can’t rule out the possibility of some kind of cowardly attack in another part of the Province.”
The new IRA group claimed responsibility for the murder of prison officer David Black last November.
The report says the gang is outside the control of Sinn Fein.
The paper also states that renegades are believed to be making Taliban-style bombs which pierce armour plating before exploding.
Three of the devices, designed to kill people inside armoured vehicles, have already been seized in Northern Ireland this year.
Police chief Stephen Martin said: “It is a worrying development.”
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