Soccer security scare coincides with Irish dissident threat

A European security official says the suspicious item at Old Trafford coincided with increased chatter about threats to sports stadiums and other targets which would draw considerable crowds.

This said, leaving a package like this runs counter to tactics seen recently by extremists and the official says “many times these things amount to hoaxes.”

“The terror threat level associated with Irish dissidents has been raised recently due to credible threats we’ve been monitoring,” the official says.

Last week, British officials raised the threat level regarding a possible attack on the mainland by Irish Republican dissidents, upping the threat level from “moderate” to “substantial.”

That means an attack was viewed as a “strong possibility.”

— AP