MANY people will welcome the news and the headline: Osama Bin Laden is dead.

For those who suffered the pain inflicted by the leader of al Qaida, his death will in some way be a compensation for their loss, But for those who see this as an end of terrorism then I afraid you need to think again.

On that dreadful day – September 11, 2001 – when tragedy struck New York, and in the years that followed in Madrid, Bali and London where many more lives were lost to terrorism, the capture and killing of bin Laden then would mean what it represents today – the making of a martyr.

President Obama, in sanctioning the military operation, has also stressed caution because of the undoubted retaliatory action upon the US and its coalition partners. We need to be more vigilant.

The dangers exist in America and in Britain.

Terrorism will, I am sure, be on high alert but my worry is that we will see another development.

It is so easy to make a link between extremism and Islam.

There is a concern that triumphalism becomes a reason to target and castigate muslims everywhere.

Not every catholic or protestant in Northern Ireland had sympathies or were members of the IRA, UVF and their paramilitary operations. Similarly, not every muslim is a terrorist.

Our vigilance needs to take careful account of this.

Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe.