29th
February 2008
The men, in their 30s and
40s, were in Atlas House when up to 20 gardaí, including
armed detectives, raided the premises.
It
is understood the search team recovered what was
described as bomb-making equipment although no live
bombs or ammunition was found on site.
The raid took place early
yesterday evening when the Irish police, the gardaí
sealed off the area.
Last night, gardaí
confirmed the three men had been arrested following the
seizure but they did not have precise ages for the
people being questioned.
A spokesman said a number
of items were seized and will be taken to Dublin to be
examined by experts. There were no firearms in the men’s
possession.
The army bomb disposal
team was not required to travel to Tralee.
Gardaí would not confirm
if the men were part of any terrorist cell acting in the
country or linked to well-known fundamentalist groups in
Afghanistan such as al-Qaida.
The men were taken to
Tralee Garda Station and held under section 30 of the
Offences Against the State Act. This relates to unlawful
organisations and terrorist activity. They can be held
for a maximum of 72 hours when they have to be either
charged or released.
The place they were
staying at, Atlas House in McCowen’s Lane, is a
well-known centre for asylum seekers in Tralee and is
home to up to 70 people at any one time.
The apartment block
remained sealed off last night as the investigation
continued.
A team from the Garda
Technical Bureau was on its way from Dublin to examine
the devices and was due in Tralee around midnight.
It is understood the raid
took place on foot of confidential information received
by the gardaí.
Intelligence sources have
stated that Al-Qaeda have been planning a co-ordinated
terrorist attack again Ireland, believing that it is a
target rich environment with little to no state security
organisations to worry about such as m15 in the UK.
It is believed that an
Afghan terrorist cell is still operating in Ireland in
preparation for an attack on March 17th
during the St. Patrick’s day parade.
British intelligence
agents operating in Ireland are believed to have tipped
of the Irish police on these three individuals.
These individuals have
connections with the UK and were planning attacks in
revenge for US military flights landing at Shannon
airport in Ireland.
They are part of a larger
cell that included suicide bombers who will launch their
attacks by mingling with crowds in Dublin city centre,
at Heuston station and aboard the Luas (Tram). Tralee
is not that far from Shannon airport and the group is
also believed to have plans to attack the airport
facility.
As information comes out
it will be reported here.
AC
