The Omagh families are hoping for a major breakthrough in the Omagh bombing investigation after two people were arrested in a big security operation in south Armagh yesterday.
Security sources described as "significant" the arrest of the man and woman, believed to be a married couple, in the Jonesborough area yesterday morning.
Up to 200 Police Service of Northern Ireland officers and British soldiers, with helicopters hovering overhead, swooped on the Armagh village around dawn yesterday.
Part of the area around Jonesborough was cordoned off as the couple were arrested and taken away for questioning to Gough PSNI Barracks in Armagh City.
Security sources were reluctant to go into detail about the arrests but said the operation was of major significance in terms of the police investigation of the 1998 "Real IRA" bombing which claimed the lives of 29 people and twin unborn girls.
Police would only say the couple were being interviewed about a series of offences including Omagh. It is understood that they are also being questioned about other "Real IRA" bombings in towns such as Moira and Banbridge, and that police are focusing on the forensics and other technical features of the investigation.
This element of the investigation may also relate to the bomb warnings on the day of the attack on August 15th, 1998, and the transportation of the car used to ferry the 500lb bomb. It is understood that one or more of the phone calls were made from the south Armagh area.
Late last night the couple had not been charged. They can be held for up to 72 hours, after which police must apply for permission to extend their period in custody or charge them.
Relatives of the victims expressed guarded hope that the arrests would lead to important developments in the investigation. Mr Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Aidan in the explosion, said he was encouraged by the fact that police sources said the arrests were "significant".
"We have had many arrests over the past five years, but there appears to be a degree of optimism about these particular arrests that was not there before," he told The Irish Times.
Mr Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena was killed in the blast, and whose daughter Shauna was seriously injured, said the families had been disappointed in the past but hoped these arrests were truly "significant" as was stated by police sources.
"It will be very interesting to see what happens over the next three or four days. I hope this is the breakthrough we have been waiting for. With God's help it is."
