'Megabomb' defused in Ulster
Sunday 29 April 2012
Related articles
A van bomb containing 600lbs of homemade explosive was "ready to go" and could have caused major loss of life, police in Northern Ireland said yesterday.
Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson said the device, found near the Irish border outside Newry on Thursday, was larger than originally estimated. "This was a very significant device," he said. "If it had exploded it would have caused devastation."
Ch Supt Robinson said the device was twice as big as the car bomb that damaged Newry's courthouse in 2010. "Anyone within 50 metres of this device would have been killed and anyone within 100 metres, seriously injured," he said.
A member of the public noticed a white Citroen Berlingo van abandoned on the Fathom Line road last Thursday. A security operation was launched and ended late on Friday. Ch Supt Robinson said the intended target and the reason the device was abandoned were unclear.
Dissident republicans opposed to the peace process are being blamed for the failed attack.
Ch Supt Robinson said the incident was the third in the Newry area in the past few weeks.
-
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
-
'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
-
German chancellor Angela Merkel named most powerful woman in the world by Forbes - again
-
World news in pictures
-
Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
- 1 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 3 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
- 4 Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
- 5 Woolwich attack: The EDL might have a sinister plan as a soldier is murdered in suspected Islamic terrorist attack
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
Day In a Page
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’





