Bombings spark fears of `Real IRA' violence

The RUC and British army are gearing up for an escalation in "Real IRA" violence following bomb attacks in Armagh city and Co Derry. The dissident republican group is being blamed for yesterday's mortar attack on Armagh RUC station and it may also have been responsible for an attempt to detonate two homemade bombs on a British army firing range at Magilligan, Co Derry.

No one was injured in either incident, although an RUC officer and a number of civilians were treated for shock after a mortar bomb fired from a white van just outside the perimeter fence of Armagh police station exploded in the station's car-park at about 8.30 a.m. yesterday.

Another vehicle drove the bombers away from the scene and almost immediately afterwards the mortar exploded. RUC Chief Insp Derek Williamson said the mortar was launched without warning in an "absolutely indiscriminate fashion and at a time when the place was busy with schoolchildren and people going to work".

A British soldier was fortunate to escape with his life when he triggered the detonator of an 80lb home-made bomb at a hut on the firing range at Magilligan on Monday afternoon. Two 80lb bombs were designed to explode but only the detonator was activated. The soldier was treated for shock.

The incidents come after security sources warned of impending attacks by the "Real IRA". In a number of recent interviews, the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, stressed that the threat from the "Real IRA" was increasing.

Security sources on both sides of the Border fear the "Real IRA" has recruited new members and is planning a more concentrated series of attacks. The organisation has not formally admitted its ceasefire, declared after Omagh, is over.

The attacks also occurred as the inquest into the "Real IRA" bombing that claimed 29 lives in Omagh was continuing. The Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Robin Eames, who heard yesterday's explosion at his home in Armagh, asked had the bombers learned nothing from Omagh.

A police vehicle used to provide secure transport for Mr John Taylor, deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, was damaged in the Armagh attack. Mr Taylor also cited the Omagh bombing and warned that unless there was a swift security response to the threat from republican dissidents another atrocity on the same scale was inevitable.

There was general consensus across the pro-Belfast Agreement parties that the bombings were designed to destabilise the political process. "They are out to wreck the Belfast Agreement. Peter Mandelson, Bertie Ahern and security forces on both sides of the Border must face up strongly to the threat because if the "Real IRA" continues, then the agreement will be torn apart," Mr Taylor warned.

Unionist politicians said the attacks were further evidence that it would be foolhardy of the Northern Secretary to scale down the British army presence in Northern Ireland. The DUP Assembly member, Mr Paul Berry, claimed that in the past week the security presence in Armagh was reduced. He also said there were a number of incidents involving republicans in Armagh that had not come to public attention, including a gun attack on soldiers last month.