Nine held in 'Continuity IRA' camp raid

Nine men were being questioned by gardaí today after the discovery of a suspected terrorist training camp.

The find was made as part of an ongoing operation on the borders of counties Waterford and Tipperary.

Police linked the discovery, in a heavily wooded area of the Comeragh Mountains, to the activities of the outlawed Continuity IRA dissident republican terrorist faction.

Weapons including two rifles and two shotguns, ammunition and other terrorist equipment were found at the camp, a police spokesman said.

The nine men being held at three separate police bases were aged from the late teens to the early 40s and came from the Waterford, Wexford and Limerick areas.

They were arrested under the terms of Irish anti-terrorist legislation which permits suspects to be kept in custody for up to 72 hours before being either charged or released.

A boy of 10 – believed to be the son of one of those arrested – was also found at the scene.

Gardaí did not formally pinpoint the area of the search, but it was understood to be around seven miles south of the Co Tipperary town of Clonmel.

The forest there had been cleared and a makeshift firing range set up.

Yesterday’s swoop was also understood to have marked the culmination of a number of months’ work.

The operation involved members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit, as well as locally-based officers.

Gardaí said the operation was continuing and being extended to other parts of the country.

The scene of the raid was sealed off ahead of detailed technical examination.