UK police arrest 4 over ‘terrorism’ in Northern Ireland
The British police have arrested four men for their suspected involvement in separatist activities in the province of Northern Ireland.
The arrests early on Thursday came less than a month after riots in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry which left a 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee dead.
“As part of this morning’s operation detectives carried out searches at four houses in the city and arrested four people in connection with the violence which was orchestrated on the streets of Creggan on the evening of Lyra McKee’s murder,” said senior police official.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement that those arrested were four males aged 15, 18, 38 and 51.
The arrests, which came under terrorist legislation, the term used by British government to describe separatist activities in Northern Ireland, marks a new escalation in a crackdown in the region where separatists have intensified their struggle for a merger with the Republic of Ireland.
The riots last month came following a major bomb attack in Londonderry in January and two shootings a month later.
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