UK special forces deployed to N. Ireland

Nationalist politicians in Northern Ireland reacted angrily on Friday to a report that British army special forces were back in the province to help gather intelligence on dissident republicans.

he BBC reported on Thursday that members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which has been at the forefront of intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, had returned to Northern Ireland.
Dolores Kelly, a member of the nationalist SDLP party and Northern Ireland's Policing Board, said the BBC report was the first she had heard of the deployment.
"We in the SDLP are very concerned about the use of British army forces in the North without any accountability mechanisms," Kelly told Reuters, adding that she was seeking an urgent meeting with police chiefs in Belfast.
The original BBC report, which is no longer accessible on its website, said the British agents would not be on the streets but would work behind the scenes.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman in London said: "We never comment on special forces." A defence ministry spokesman in Northern Ireland said he wouldn't discuss "operational issues."
Special forces such as the SAS operated throughout the "Troubles," when the IRA waged a guerrilla campaign against British rule in the province.
A 1998 peace deal ended 30 years of political and sectarian conflict between the IRA, which seeks a united Ireland, and pro-British Protestant groups.
But sporadic violence continues and armed republican dissidents and pro-British loyalist groups continue to be involved in paramilitary and criminal activities.
In late January, a bomb packed with 300 pounds (136.1 kg) of explosives, was defused in Castlewellan, a town around 30 miles (50 km) south of Belfast. A splinter nationalist organisation claimed responsibility.
"We are not diminishing the threat," said Kelly. "We know that some major operations have been disrupted but we have been given to understand that they were disrupted by the good work of police surveillance.
"At no time did we ever know or dream that British army recon units were being used."
(Reporting by Carmel Crimmins and Peter Griffiths)


Although there has been some kind of peace in Ireland since 1998 the devolved Irish governemnt and the UK government have been worried about new loyalist and indpendence groups forming in Ireland it's been of paticular concern since a massive bomb was defused in January outside Belfast. One thing I know that is wrong with the report is that these guys are not working behind the scenes the police can do that part of the job they are doing the fieldwork on this one.
I understand the Irish politicians anger but theres 2 things about this firstly it's still British terrirtory so the UK army can be there and secondly if the Irish government and police cannot get thier house in order regarding these groups then somebody should we cant go let these groups gain the power that the IRA and the UDF etc had in the 80's.

2 soldiers were killed and a number of civilian were wounded 1 critically after an attack on an army base in Antrim late last night. Makes me wonder ikf the incident is connected to this Special forces issue or just a coincidence.

Terrible. I never really take a side on this one because I'm not in the area. But I do have no sympathy for the IRA.

The Real IRA have claimed responsibility for the murder of the 2 soldiers and the contnuity IRA have claimed responsibility for the murder of a policeman on Monday night.

The Real IRA?

Let me guess...a sectional offshoot of the original IRA that just want to stir up trouble.

yep they split from the provisional IRA after they said they were interested in the political process in Ireland, they are probably the most dangerous and deadly of all the terror groups in Ireland they work includes the Omagh bombing.