Army death threat may be spurious

A death threat against an Irish soldier purported to have been made by a republican terror group may be spurious, investigators suspect.

As revealed in the Irish Examiner yesterday, the threat against a soldier based in Finner Camp in Donegal was claimed to have come from a violent group based in Derry.

Detectives from the special detective unit and military police have to take any such threat seriously, and offered security advice to the member.

He was not given Garda protection following an assessment of the threat and the solider’s own circumstances. It is understood he may be living in the camp, which sources said would mitigate any possible threat.

An Army spokesman confirmed that an investigation was under way: “The Defence Forces can confirm that allegations of a threat against a serving soldier in Donegal were investigated by security forces. Appropriate action was taken and gardaí and military police investigations into the allegations are ongoing.”

He added: “It is not appropriate to comment further on security matters at this point in time.”

Military police in Finner are assisting gardaí with their investigation, including an examination of whether there are any internal issues within the camp that could possibly be linked to the threat. As part of this they will investigate if any suspects have connections with the Derry terror group.