LONDON — Irish authorities confirmed Friday the interception of a significant vehicle-borne explosive device near the Northern Ireland border earlier this week, during an operation targeting dissident republican activity.
A female driver in her 20s was taken into custody on Wednesday near Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, and a male suspect in his 40s was also detained later that day. Both individuals remain in police custody on suspicion of offenses against the state.
The extraction and disposal of the ordnance was carried out by an Irish military bomb disposal unit, though specific operational details regarding the neutralization of the device have not been disclosed.
“What we found was an extremely significant seizure,” stated Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly. “This was an explosive device that posed a serious threat.”
While the intended destination of the vehicle remains unclear, the discovery comes amid a renewed spike in dissident republican activity in Northern Ireland this year. Police suspect linkages to two previous car bomb incidents this year, including one that detonated outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast in April and an earlier attempted bombing thwarted by a controlled explosion.
The events serve as a stark reminder of the decades-long conflict known as “The Troubles,” a period of sectarian violence involving Irish Republican and British Loyalist militants against U.K. security forces, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,600 people before the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
“We certainly know that there are a small minority of dissident republicans who did not agree with the Good Friday Agreement, they did not put weapons and explosives (out of use),” Kelly added. “There’s a small minority of these individuals, I would describe them as radicalized republicans, and this is a threat that we’re going to continue to face for some time.”