Terrorist threat now a reality in Northern Ireland

The terrorist threat in Northern Ireland has become a reality after an officer from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) died from a gunshot wound earlier this week, less than 48 hours after two soldiers were shot dead outside their barracks in Massereene.
Dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA, has said it was behind the shooting of PC Stephen Paul Carroll.
The attack on PC Carroll took place on the evening of March 10, when police were called to the Lismore Manor area of Craigavon to investigate reports of criminal damage.
When the attending officers got out of their vehicles, they were met by a hail of bullets. It is believed PC Carroll was shot in the head. He was rushed to hospital, but died later from the injuries.
Only last week Whitehall officials said that MI5 has been increasing its resources devoted to counter-terrorism in Northern Ireland. The Intelligence and Security Committee released a report last week revealing that MI5 allocated 15 per cent of its resources in 2007/08 to “Irish-related terrorism”, down from 17 per cent in 2006/07.
At the time, Sir Hugh Orde, PSNI  chief constable, said he had been consistent in saying that the threat from dissident republican terrorists was increasing and that they were “determined to murder a police officer in their misguided efforts”.
Police and MI5 have begun investigating alibis for 200 known republican dissidents.
In a statement released after the shooting of PC Carroll, Sir Hugh said that he had “been very clear” about the threat of unrest that the force was facing over the last year and that “it reminds us that a small group of people determined to wreck what is huge political progress are becoming more dangerous”.
He added: “This will not put off me or my officers delivering the service to the communities that we are paid to protect, that will continue unrelenting as it has done in the face of the threat that we have been facing in the last nine to 12 months.
“On this particular occasion the officers were fully aware of the threat they were facing; they responded in an entirely appropriate way, sadly one officer paid with his life, protecting the service, protecting the community, which he knew was his duty and was determined to deliver.”
PC Carroll is the first officer to be murdered since 1998, when PC Frank O’Reilly was killed by a loyalist blast bomb during disturbances linked to the Drumcree dispute. Dissident republicans also tried to kill two PSNI officers in shootings in Derry and Dungannon in November 2007.
Sir Hugh called the gunmen “the very worst in human nature” and said his sympathies are with PC Carroll’s family.
“Shortly before 10pm last night officers in Craigavon were going about their duty, serving the public of Northern Ireland, answering a call for help. Sadly one of those officers paid the ultimate price when cowards and criminals gunned him down. I pay tribute to him and send my deepest sympathy to his family.
“My officers joined the police service to serve the community here. Every day and night they respond to reports of burglary, domestic abuse, missing persons, vehicle theft, rape, the list goes on. Last night in Craigavon it was a call to a broken window. Such is the desire within my organisation to win the support of all within the community my officers responded knowing the threat to their lives was a very real possibility.
“But last night their commitment was met with the very worst in human nature. This morning the PSNI has lost an officer. But I say to you – the people living on this island – you have lost a member of your community. This was not only an attack on the peace process – it was an attack on the community here.”
The chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Professor Sir Desmond Rea, has condemned the murders saying they must not be allowed to hinder the peace process.
“The murder of a police officer in Craigavon, following the killing of two young soldiers and the injuring of four civilians, is a step back into a pa