IRA hoard of Semtex seized

AN IRA explosives store has been discovered in north London by police who are believed to have seized enough Semtex to make up to 20 small bombs, writes Will Bennett.

A gun and a large amount of bomb-making equipment were captured in the raid, part of an intensified police operation against Irish terrorists in the capital. Six people are still being questioned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act after arrests in London and Staffordshire since Saturday.

Police refused last night to discuss details of the raid on a block of flats in Tottenham, one of a number in the area over the previous 24 hours. But the IRA's renewed bombing campaign may have suffered a temporary setback.

The raid was near the spate of small explosions over the past fortnight. Bombs have gone off in west Hampstead, Cricklewood, Finchley, Tottenham and Highgate - some without warning.

On Monday, police ambushed a car in north London and ordered the driver at gunpoint to get out and lie on the ground. As he was led away officers surrounded shops near by and raided a flat above a hairdresser's, arresting two men and a woman.

Despite the latest find the IRA has a large quantity of Semtex, including enough stored in England, to maintain a bombing campaign for years.

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