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La Regina Elisabetta II nel mirino dei cecchini della Real IRA

Gardai fear queen sniper

Cecchino al lavoro | Sniper At WorkGARDAI have cranked up security for the royal visit amid ominous threats from dissident republicans.

Sources fear the queen could be targeted by a sniper attack on her visit to the capital.

Residents along Queen Elizabeth‘s route in Dublin have been visited for a second time by gardai conducting background checks.

Windows and balconies are being probed by investigators in a bid to minimise any possible threat of a sniper attack.

The Real IRA issued a chilling warning that the queen is guilty of “war crimes” and they would ensure she “gets the message” during her three day visit.

There are growing fears that dissident groups may carry out a terrorist attack to coincide with the visit which is just three weeks away.

Four republican groups remain active and all have shown their capacity to carry out gun and bomb attacks in recent months.

The British monarch will visit the Guinness Brewery, the Garden of Remembrance, Aras an Uachtaran and Croke Park during her 72-hour visit to Ireland in May.

Uniformed officers have been visiting thousands of residents who live in properties overlooking the sites and the routes the Queen may use.

“Two gardai came to our door yesterday and asked us could they be let in,” one Dublin resident told the Herald.

“They were asking lots of questions, they were looking for the car registration numbers for any vehicles we might have and the details of people who have a set of keys to the apartment.

“They asked us for basic background information and where we had lived in the past.”

BUDGET

Regina Elisabetta e Principe Filippo | Queen Elizabeth and Prince PhilipSecurity sources believe that a sniper attack may be the only viable terrorist threat to the queen during her visit.

Gardai were keeping tight-lipped about the reports and security arrangements are being kept top secret.

“We will not be discussing any of the security issues surrounding the proposed visits later this year,” a garda spokesperson told the Herald.

The state visits of Queen Elizabeth and US President Barack Obama represent the largest security operations ever put in place for foreign dignitaries.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has said that the operations will involve thousands of gardai and will cost millions of euro.

He said that he had sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting that a separate budget be established for the visit because the existing garda budget could not cope.

In the coming weeks, garda focus will centre around dissident-republican groups who are planning street demonstrations during the queen’s visit. About 40 Islamic extremists living in Ireland will be under surveillance for both visits.

It will be the first visit of a British monarch in a century. The queen’s grandfather, King George V, visited 100 years ago when Ireland was part of the UK. He spent six days in Dublin in 1911.

Garda anti-terrorist officers are drafting contingency plans for the queen’s security.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police in London provide a royal-protection squad, which travels with the monarch at all times. Close protection is expected to be provided by garda special units, including the ERU, while the Army Ranger Wing using snipers — some in helicopters with .5 heavy-calibre sniper rifles able to kill at over a mile — will be deployed for close protection of residences where she will stay, most likely Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park.

The queen is expected to land at Baldonnel airbase, while no-fly zones will be in effect over Farmleigh and the airbase will be patrolled by armed Air Corps PC-9 planes.

The Army Air Defence Regiment, with surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns, will be used to protect airports.

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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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