Other Names
The Provos, Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)

Description
Radical terrorist group formed in 1969 as clandestine armed wing of Sinn Fein, a legal political movement dedicated to removing British forces from Northern Ireland and unifying Ireland. Has a Marxist orientation. Organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council.

Activities
Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, and robberies. Targets have included senior British Government officials, British military and police in Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish Loyalist paramilitary groups. Bombing campaigns have been conducted against train and subway stations and shopping areas on mainland Britain, as well as against British and Royal Ulster Constabulary targets in Northern Ireland and a British military facility on the European Continent. The IRA has been observing a cease-fire since July 1997 and previously observed a cease-fire from 1 September 1994 to February 1996.

Strength
Largely unchanged--several hundred members, plus several thousand sympathizers--but the IRA's strength may have been affected by operatives leaving the organization to join hardline splinter groups.

Location/Area of Operation
Northern Ireland, Irish Republic, Great Britain, and Europe.

External Aid
Has received aid from a variety of groups and countries and considerable training and arms from Libya and, at one time, the PLO. Is suspected of receiving funds and arms from sympathizers in the United States. Similarities in operations suggest links to the ETA.