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some kind of compromise. On February 9, 1996, the McKittrick, David. Making Sense of the Troubles. Belfast:
IRA declared its cease-fire over and detonated a truck Blackstaff, 2000.
bomb at London’s Canary Wharf, killing two and caus- O’Brien, Brendan. The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Fein.
ing millions of dollars of damage. 2nd ed. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1999.
O’Brien, Brendan. Pocket History of the IRA: From 1916
Not until the summer of 1997, after the election of
Onwards. Dublin: O’Brien, 2000.
Tony Blair as prime minister, did peace negotiations
Sutton, Malcolm. Bear in Mind These Dead . . . An Index of
resume. (The Real IRA split from the Provisionals at
Deaths From the Conflict in Ireland 1969-1993. Belfast:
this time.) On April 12, 1998, negotiations culmi-
Beyond the Pale, 1994.
nated in the Good Friday Accords, which called for a Taylor, Peter. Loyalists: War and Peace in Northern
new Northern Irish Parliament in which Catholics Ireland. New York: TV Books, 1999.
and Protestants shared power, a joint commission to Taylor, Peter. Provos: The IRA and Sinn Fein. London:
oversee affairs between Northern Ireland and the Bloomsbury, 1997.
Republic of Ireland, extensive reforms in the RUC,
the early release of paramilitary convicts, and even-
tual decommissioning. ISLAMIC ARMY FOR THE
In the years since the accords, the issue of decom- LIBERATION OF HOLY PLACES
missioning has several times threatened to destroy
the peace; only in October 2001 did the IRA agree to aka Islamic Army for the Liberation of Holy Sites
begin destroying its arms. In 2002, it was revealed that
at least 15 IRA members had made visits to Colombia, Possibly based in Germany, the Islamic Army for
allegedly to train members of the Marxist terrorist the Liberation of Holy Places is a mysterious terrorist
group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia group that has claimed responsibility for bombings
(FARC); observers have expressed profound concerns later proven to be the work of Al Qaeda operatives;
about what possible links between FARC and the IRA it is sometimes called Al Qaeda’s military wing.
may mean for the cease-fire. Meanwhile, the IRA con- The group was unknown until the East African
tinues to patrol Catholic neighborhoods and has been U.S. embassy bombings in 1998. On August 7, car
implicated in several murders since 1998. bombs exploded nearly simultaneously at the U.S.
Under international pressure to increase its support embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam,
of the Good Friday Accords, in July 2002 the IRA Tanzania. The blasts killed 224 people and destroyed
issued an unprecedented apology to the civilian vic- both embassies. The Islamic Army for the Liberation
tims of its attacks. Nonetheless, sporadic violence and of Holy Places subsequently sent statements to Arab
rioting continues in many areas of Northern Ireland, news organizations claiming responsibility for the
and the peace remains fragile. attacks. Many experts cautioned that the Islamic Army
could be a new group trying to make a name for itself
See also BOMBINGS AND BOMB SCARES; CONTINUITY IRISH by taking responsibility for an action it had no part in.
REPUBLICAN ARMY; IRISH NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY; U.S. investigators soon declared that Osama bin
REAL IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY; RED HAND DEFENDERS;
Laden’s Al Qaeda network was responsible for the
REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA; ULSTER attacks and indicted 26 people. Al Qaeda, an Arabic
DEFENSE ASSOCIATION; ULSTER FREEDOM FIGHTERS;
word meaning “The Base,” is an international network
ULSTER VOLUNTEER FORCE
that employs violence to attempt to drive the United
Further Reading States from Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries.
Al Qaeda uses a long list of pseudonyms in addition
Bew, P., and G. Gillespie. Northern Ireland: A Chronology to Islamic Army for the Liberation of Holy Places;
of the Troubles 1968-1999. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, these include Islamic Salvation Foundation, the Group
1999.
Dixon, Paul. Northern Ireland: The Politics of War and for the Preservation of the Holy Sites, the World
Peace. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders,
Holland, Jack. Hope Against History: The Course of Conflict Osama bin Laden Network, and Osama bin Laden
in Northern Ireland. New York: Henry Holt, 1999. Organization.
Kee, Robert. Ireland: A History. London: Sphere Books, The name Islamic Army for the Liberation for Holy
1982. Places surfaced again in April 2002, when a truck