UK intelligence agency raises threat level for Northern Ireland to "severe"

Britain's MI5 intelligence agency has increased its threat level to Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to "severe" - meaning an attack is highly likely, Britain said on Tuesday.

"In recent months, we have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland Related Terrorism, which has targeted police officers serving their communities and also put at risk the lives of children and other members of the public," Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris said in a written ministerial statement. The change comes roughly a year after Britain lowered the threat level for the province to "substantial" for the first time in more than a decade.