Real IRA suspects placed under investigation

Three people suspected of links to the Real IRA were to appear before a Paris judge today to be told of the case against them, judicial officials said.

The suspects were to be placed under investigation – one step short of formal charges – on Saturday for criminal association with a terrorist group, the officials said .

State prosecutors were expected to request that two of the suspects be held in custody, with the third released before further proceedings.

The suspects were among six people arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of ties to the Real IRA, which claimed responsibility for a Omagh car bomb attack in 1998 that killed 29 people and wounded more than 300. The three other suspects were released without facing any charges.

The six were arrested in the northern coastal regions of Cotes d’Armor and Seine-Maritime. Police also found two submachine guns, an automatic pistol and two silencers hidden in a barrel-sized container in a small forest.

In August, French authorities, working on intelligence provided by gardaí opened an inquiry into possible activity in France by the Real IRA.