IRA launches manhunt to track down informers

The Irish Republican Army has launched an international manhunt for high-level informers who have put 80 of its members behind bars, senior Republican sources said Tuesday.

Informers recruited by police are usually offered immunity from crimes, a new identity, and money to start a new life abroad in exchange for testifying against former colleagues. Almost 300 people from both Republican and Protestant guerrilla groups have been arrested or convicted on the evidence of some 20 informers since the practice began in earnest last year.