Woman Arrested Under Terrorism Act After Death Of Journalist Lyra McKee

The New IRA has admitted responsibility for the murder of the 29-year-old journalist in Northern Ireland.
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A 57-year-old woman has been arrested under the Terrorism Act in connection with the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry/Londonderry, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

In a short statement, the PSNI did not disclose any further details about the nature of the arrest, only that she had been taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite.

McKee, 29, died as a result of injuries sustained when she was shot on the Creggan estate on April 18.

Two teenage men initially arrested by detectives investigating the murder were later released without charge.

The New IRA — an amalgam of armed groups opposed to the peace process — has admitted responsibility for the murder.

In a statement given to The Irish News using a recognised code word, the group offered “full and sincere apologies” to her family and friends.

It has been linked with four murders, including PC Ronan Kerr, who was killed by an under-car bomb in Omagh in 2011.

The group is also linked to the deaths of prison officers David Black, who was shot as he drove to work at Maghaberry Prison in 2012, and Adrian Ismay, who died in 2016 after a bomb exploded under his van outside his home in east Belfast.

The New IRA is believed to have been formed between 2011 and 2012 following the merger of a number of smaller groups, including the Real IRA — the group behind the 1998 Omagh bomb.

It is strongest in Derry/Londonderry, north and west Belfast, Strabane and other pockets in County Tyrone, and Lurgan in County Armagh.

This year the group was responsible for a car bomb outside the courthouse in Bishop Street, Derry.

The explosives-laden car was left on the city centre street on a Saturday night in January, and scores of people, including a group of teenagers, had walked past before it detonated.

The New IRA also claimed a number of package bombs posted to targets in London and Glasgow in March.

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