A police officer stands guard on the steps of Stormont Parliament in Belfast, Northern Ireland, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoBELFAST, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Northern Irish police are confident that militant groups are in possession of details of officers it accidentally shared publicly last week, the region's police chief said on Monday. The accidental data leak is hugely sensitive in Northern Ireland, where officers are still sporadically targeted by dissident groups in bomb and gun attacks, despite a 1998 peace deal largely ending three decades of sectarian violence. "We are now confident that the workforce dataset is in the hands of dissident republicans," Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Simon Byrne told a news conference. He added that he was confident the UK government stood ready to provide additional funding for protecting its workforce or staff if needed.

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Persons: Clodagh, Constable Simon Byrne, Sinn, Gerry Kelly, Byrne, Amanda Ferguson, Padraic Halpin, Alistair Smout Organizations: REUTERS, Northern Irish, " Police Service of Northern, Irish, Thomson Locations: Belfast , Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, " Police Service of Northern Ireland, Belfast