Early arrests expected in second pipe bomb blast inquiry

Gardaí investigating the explosion of a second pipe bomb in two days in Dublin are following a definite line of inquiry and expect to make a number of early arrests.

Detectives are satisfied that the device which exploded outside a house on Roseglen Avenue, Kilbarrack, early yesterday was the latest in a number of increasingly serious violent incidents between two factions which have become involved in a bitter dispute.

The dispute has already been the subject of a major Garda investigation. Details cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.

One local woman who spoke to The Irish Times yesterday said the community was shocked by the latest events.

"I heard the bang and came out of my house. There were loads of people on the road. The family was in the house at the time and they came out. They were fairly shocked. We weren't sure at the start what had happened but then we noticed the bumper was blown off the car and one of the windows was smashed in the house."

Senior Garda sources said the incident was in no way linked to organised crime. However, detectives believe the pipe bomb may have been manufactured by dissident republicans and sold on to those who used it.

Both Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy said there was no connection between the Kilbarrack explosion and another explosion in Clonshaugh, Dublin, on Wednesday evening.

The Clonshaugh incident is believed to be linked to a row over money between parties known to the Garda.

The device used was also a pipe bomb but was more sophisticated than the one used yesterday. It had been packed with nails and shotgun pellets and was attached to a timer.

The bomb used in yesterday's attack was a simple six-inch pipe filled with gunpowder and sealed at both ends. Security sources said they believed a timer was not used.

They believe it may have been fitted with a fuse which was simply lit just before the device was placed under the car in the driveway of the house in Roseglen Avenue.

Mr McDowell said the same people had not built the two bombs.

Mr Conroy said while nobody had been injured in either attack, both incidents were a cause for concern.

The bomb was placed under a Renault Clio parked in the driveway of the house on Roseglen Avenue. Gardaí believe those who planted it may have intended to blow up the fuel tank of the vehicle.

However, the spare wheel in the car absorbed much of the impact. Shrapnel from the device became embedded in the car and the walls of the house. Downstairs windows in the house were also broken.

Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene just after midnight. They gathered the remains of the device for analysis and examined the scene to make sure there were no other explosives in the area. The vicinity of the attack remained sealed off overnight and Garda technical experts carried out a full examination throughout yesterday.

Anyone with information on the Kilbarrack attack is asked to contact gardaí in Raheny at (01) 6664300.