Author Topic: Car bomb found near primary school prompts fears for N. Ireland peace process  (Read 1037 times)

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Offline bijou

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The bomb, which could have caused a substantial loss of life and much damage, was found in the back of a black Volkswagen Bora during a security operation in the village of Castlewellan, County Down, in Northern Ireland.

There have been growing fears in recent months of a major attack from an Irish republican splinter group.

The alert began after a telephoned warning on Tuesday which claimed a bomb had been left in the village. The callers claimed the bomb was originally intended for a nearby British army vase at Ballykinler but had been abandoned.

The car was located in the Dublin Road and Burrenreagh Road area.

An Army bomb disposal team carried out a detailed examination of the vehicle, while the surrounding area was searched.

The vehicle was removed by police on Saturday, who said it had been a "viable device".

A police spokesman said the forensic and clean-up operation was still under way on Saturday night. A number of controlled explosions were carried out earlier in the week after what police called "several suspect items" were found in the vehicle.

Superintendent Greg Blain said that the bomb had been left near a primary school and was on a road used regularly by pupils, parents and teachers.

"The people who carried this out showed a callous disregard for the lives of everyone in our community," he said. ...Security sources on both sides of the Irish border said that the group, known as Oglaigh na hÉireann (Army of Ireland), was behind the attempted murder of the policeman. ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/northernireland/4414323/Car-bomb-found-near-primary-school-prompts-fears-for-Northern-Ireland-peace-process.html

This is rather depressing news, but not entirely unexpected, there was always some opposition to the peace process on both sides.