UK police arrest member of armed forces under Terrorism Act

London’s Metropolitan Police say they’ve arrested a member of Britain’s armed forces as part of an investigation into Northern Ireland-related offences under the Terrorism Act.

Police arrested the 30-year-old man at a house in south Devon, in southwestern England, on suspicion of being involved in preparing acts of terrorism. Authorities carried out searches in a wooded area in south Devon and Northern Ireland.

The dominant IRA faction renounced violence in 2005, but dissident groups still plot attacks in hopes of destabilizing Northern Ireland’s peace process and Catholic-Protestant unity government.

Authorities have put the threat of a Northern Ireland-related attack in mainland Britain at “substantial,” meaning it’s a strong possibility. In Northern Ireland, the threat is at “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.