Irish police arrest six terror suspects

The officers found two bombs and components for other explosive devices one day earlier in Leitrim and arrested four people following 20 raids across the country.

The men were charged with "directing terrorism," membership of an unlawful organization and possession of explosives, police said on Thursday.

The Irish police denied any links between the arrests and Prince Charles' visit next week. However, the Irish media was quick to see a connection, when on Thursday, two more suspects with explosives were arrested about 40 kilometers (24 miles) away from Sligo racecourse, which Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are scheduled to visit on May 20.

Prince Charles and Camilla are also planning to visit Mullaghmore near Sligo, where Charles' great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was killed in 1979 by a bomb placed in his fishing boat by the Irish Republican Army.

"It is understood that gardai (police) received credible intelligence of a plot targeting the heir to the British throne," the Irish Independent wrote of the findings on Thursday.

Security measures and "monitoring of dissident republicans" would be increased ahead of the visit, Irish broadcaster RTE said. Police and bomb disposal teams were on high alert four years back, when Queen Elizabeth II visited the country, dpa quoted the Times as saying.

mg/kms (AP, dpa)