Belfast 'ideal' terror target, expert warns
Belfast port is a perfect target for global terrorists plotting new strikes on the west, security experts warned today.
With al-Qaida believed to be using ships to attack, specialists claimed the grouping could attempt to launch a chemical or biological offensive on the city.
Christopher Ledger, of London-based Maritime and Underwater Security Consultants Ltd, urged the authorities to tighten sea controls.
He said: “Belfast in many ways would be ideal as the port is right in the centre of town.
“There is certainly a risk of a bomb or a substance being released from a ship.”
Mr Ledger, a former British Special Forces operative who served in Northern Ireland at the height of the violence in the 1970s, detailed the threat at a major conference on coping with terrorist atrocities and disasters.
As top officials from the US and Canada gathered for the Emergency Planning Society event in Belfast, he insisted the city’s links with the United States were strong enough to warrant extremists’ attention.
“This is a worldwide phenomenon and Belfast is no more immune to it than any other major port,” Mr Ledger said.
“We know that al-Qaida has been running exercises to see how they can best either board or attack a ship.
“Any port like Belfast, right alongside a major city, must be vulnerable. Therefore it must have in place proper security measures.”
