Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency has increased its threat level to Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to “severe”, said UK government 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 statement.

The change comes roughly a year after Britain lowered the threat level for Northern Ireland to “substantial” for the first time in more than a decade.

Source: Kuwait News Agency