Bomb alert ahead of US President Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland

Police in Northern Ireland foiled a terrorist plot by the paramilitary group, New IRA. Members of the group would have sought to buy parts from Derry for the manufacture of a bomb with which they planned to disrupt the speech of American President Joe Biden.

Biden is due to arrive in Belfast on Tuesday on the occasion of the commemoration of 25 years since the signing of the peace agreement between the belligerents.

“It is our belief that the New IRA was planning some sort of attack to coincide with Biden’s visit, similar to the mortar attack on police in Strabane last November,” a police spokesman said.

Last November, the group claimed responsibility for detonating a roadside bomb. The attack targeted a police vehicle. The two policemen on patrol miraculously escaped unharmed when the bomb exploded near their car.

Biden will visit Belfast on Tuesday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the US-brokered Good Friday Agreement. The historic pact concluded in 1998 ended decades of fighting in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. Former President Bill Clinton, who played a major role in negotiating the agreement, is also expected to attend.