Police in Northern Ireland have seized weapons and explosives during security sweeps on Monday, ahead of the gathering of world leaders, including President Barack Obama at the G8 Summit, in Enniskillen.
The weaponry was found during a sweep of Irish militant nationalists, Reuters reports. They have also made a number of arrests in recent weeks. One militant group claimed responsibility for a car bomb set to target the Lough Erne resort when the meetings will be held.
A police spokeswoman said, “Detectives of the serious crime branch conducting a search in the Beechwood area of Londonderry in relation to dissident republican activity have recovered a quantity of munitions and explosives.”
Experts believe it’s unlikely that militants will get passed the security established at the resort.
On Monday Reuters also reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron was taking a gamble hosting the world leader’s meetings just five miles away from Enniskillen, where in 1987 11 people were murdered and 63 injured by an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb.
According to reports Cameron chose the secluded rural Irish spot to stave off anti-globalists, Islamists or other potential trouble-makers but in doing so he stands the risk that Irish militants might cause some trouble.
John Bew, a security expert at King's College London said, “In some ways it's more manageable. In some ways it's more of a gamble...It's a golden opportunity (for the dissidents) in terrain they know very well.”
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