Northern Ireland police charge New IRA suspects

Police have laid terrorism charges against seven out of 10 suspected members of a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group arrested since last week, Irish and British media reported Sunday.

The New IRA, a dissident republican leftover of decades of unrest in Northern Ireland, had been targeted with bugging devices during Operation Arbacia, reported the Belfast Telegraph newspaper. 

Britain's MI5 domestic security service had been involved in the surveillance, the paper said.

Five of the accused were expected to appear in a Belfast court Monday, said Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Grey. 

Read more: Lyra McKee shooting: Police find murder weapon, know killer's identity

Two others appeared on Saturday via video-link. One was accused of conspiracy to possess explosives, namely Semtex.

Also on Saturday, a 62-year-old suspect, a resident of Scotland, was arrested at London's Heathrow airport and flown to Northern Ireland, reported RTE, the Republic of Ireland's public broadcaster based in Dublin.

A property in the Blackhall area of Edinburgh had been searched by Scottish police, the BBC added.

Among those arrested were two women, aged 45 and 49, who were charged "on suspicion of a wide range of offences," said the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Read more: Irish police find weapons hidden in wood near border

One common charge is preparing acts of terrorism, said to include attendances at meetings in Omagh, where a 1998 car bombing killed 29 people. Responsibility was claimed at the time by the Real IRA, a splinter group.

For years the New IRA has opposed Northern Ireland's peace process exemplified by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement intended to end the "Troubles."

Northern Ireland was riven by decades of sectarian conflict as Catholic nationalists sought a United Ireland while Protestant Unionists fought to remain in the United Kingdom. The conflict led to some 3,500 deaths. 

The subsequent peace process led to power sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland, with the Provisional IRA officially ending its violent campaign in 2005.

John Hume, who once led the Catholic Social Democrat SDLP party, and helped forge the 1998 agenda,died in early August, drawing tributes, including those of former US President Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama.

Hume and David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for their cross-community efforts. 

ipj/nm (dpa, AP)