BOMB ATTACK HITS MI5 BASE

Posted by Jim on August 18, 2015

The political crisis in the North deepened this week when a bomb attack
struck the British Army’s Palace Barracks, the headquarters of MI5 in
Ireland.

The bomb exploded inside a van, from which a fire spread to a number of
nearby vehicles and garages. There were no reports of any injuries.
British Direct Ruler Therese Villiers described the attack as “reckless
and futile”, and Stormont politicians were also quick to condemn it.

The Palace Barracks complex in Holywood, County Down is the main
back-up to MI5 headquarters in London and is its largest base outside
the English capital, with over 1,000 agents.

Soldiers from The Royal Scots Borderers have also been stationed at the
base since August 2014, which has one of the highest levels of security
of any British military installation in Ireland. All vehicles entering
are searched, and anyone regularly entering the building must be first
subject to background security checks.

Friday’s attack represents a major breach of that security and shows
that despite the best efforts of the British military, nowhere is beyond
the reach of the breakaway IRA groups. Significant planning will have
gone into such an operation to ensure the device made it through
security undetected.

Although the bomb was not large, it has undoubtedly caused further
embarrassment for the PSNI, British military and intelligence chiefs.
Five years ago, a bomb containing between 40lbs and 50lbs of explosive
was driven to the same barracks and set off. Spy cameras hidden in trees
were later found to have been gathering information on the #20m base.
Following that attack, security was supposed to have been stepped up.

Friday’s attack has followed an escalation in armed actions in the
North, all without causing injury.

A bomb which exploded in a roadside bin in Derry on Tuesday night was
described as having “all the hallmarks” of an IRA attack, according to
the PSNI. The area around the Skeoge Road was sealed off following
reports of a loud explosion in the Galliagh are.

It was initially thought that a gas cylinder had been thrown onto a
bonfire. However, the PSNI later confirmed the noise was the result of a
roadside bomb.

Last week, a mortar rocket was also found during a major two-day
security operation at the graveyard in the Townsend Street area of the
County Tyrone town of Strabane. The PSNI said the bomb was “viable” and
could easily have been used to mount an attack.