Dissident republicans are planning to kill police and soldiers to mark Ireland’s centenary of the Easter uprising, a senior officer has warned.
Police fear that the attempted murder of a prison officer in Belfast yesterday might be the first of several terrorist plots planned to coincide with commemorations of the republican anniversary.
The dissidents’ target, a 52-year-old father of three, was in a stable condition after an explosive device detonated under the van he was driving to work in Belfast. The officer, who has been at the service for 28 years, had just left his home in the east of the city when the device went off soon after 7am.
The explosion was in a predominantly unionist area. The victim works at Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre and Prison in south Belfast, where he is a trainer for recruits to the prison service.
Detectives are examining whether the bomb was dislodged from the vehicle as it went over a speed bump, thus reducing the impact of the blast.
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Arlene Foster, the Stormont first minister, and Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister, described the bombing as despicable and shocking. “Our thoughts and prayers are with this senior prison officer and his family as he is treated for his injuries in hospital,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
“We join all right-thinking people in condemning these cowardly actions. As a prison officer, he is someone who serves and protects our community and we are united in our rejection of this attack.”
Assistant chief constable Stephen Martin, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said that he was concerned about an upsurge in dissident activity before the 100th anniversary of the republican rebellion against British rule in Dublin.
While the terror threat level in Northern Ireland has been categorised as severe for years, Mr Martin said he was now describing it as the upper end of severe.
He said: “There are people within dissident republican groupings who want to mark this centenary by killing police officers, prison officers and soldiers. I am saying that publicly, I am saying it deliberately and I am saying I need the help of the community.”
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The Easter Rising, in which a group of Irish nationalists staged a rebellion in a failed attempt to establish a republic, has assumed significance in wider republican and nationalist ideology.
Extremists who splintered from the mainstream republican movement during the peace process insist their armed actions will not end until the six counties of Northern Ireland are reunited with the Irish Republic.
The anniversary will be marked by a series of state events in Dublin on March 27. Dozens of commemorative events are planned north of the border as well. Mr Martin said his officers were culturally sensitive to those tributes and would police them appropriately.
He warned: “There are people within dissident republican groupings who want to mark the 2016 anniversary in an entirely more sinister way. So we believe the threat is extremely high at the moment. It’s at the upper end of severe and we need community support.”