Suspected IRA man in German custody

A former British soldier accused of being a member of the IRA was in German custody today after being extradited from the Czech Republic.

Michael Dickson, 38, is wanted in connection with a 1996 mortar attack on a British army base in Germany where he had once served with an engineering unit.

Three home-made mortar shells were fired at the Quebec Barracks in Osnabruck, causing damage but no injuries.

Dickson, from Greenock in Scotland, has been on the run since 1996.

He is also a suspect in the 1996 bombing of the British army’s Northern Ireland headquarters, and in the 1999 shooting of a former IRA member, Martin McGartland.

McGartland, who survived the attack, was a former police spy within the IRA.

Dickson was arrested in Prague on December 6 on an international warrant.

Prosecutors in Berlin did not say when charges might be brought against him.