Murder bid admitted by Real IRA
Murder bid admitted by Real IRA The Irish News 16/05/08 The Real IRA has claimed responsibility for the attempted murder of an off-duty policeman in Co Tyrone on Monday. Four men arrested in relation to the booby-trap bomb attack on the Catholic officer were last night still being questioned at Antrim serious crime suite. They were detained after early morning raids in counties Tyrone and Derry yesterday and are being questioned by detectives. The PSNI officer, aged in his twenties, sustained serious leg injuries after a booby-trap bomb exploded in his car in Spamount near Castlederg. Dissident republicans were blamed for the attack and police said yesterday they were investigating claims made by the Co Tyrone brigade of the Real IRA that they were responsible. The dissident republican group had also claimed they were behind the shooting of two off-duty police officers in Dungannon and Derry last November. It is thought the arrests were made in Draperstown, Co Derry, the Dungannon area and Omagh town yesterday morning. DUP assembly member Maurice Morrow welcomed the arrests but said he hoped it was not a case of the police making arrests “to give the impression they are on top of things”. Sinn Fein councillor Sean Begley said the raids in the area had been heavy handed. He claimed a pregnant woman due to give birth next week, an elderly couple and a teenage girl living alone had been traumatised by the dawn raids. “Regardless of the stated background to these searches there is no justification for such heavy handed tactics and I will raising serious issues of concern this with the District Commander and within the local DPP,” he said.

Dissidents proscribed By Staff Reporter 15/05/08 SECRETARY of State Shaun Woodward yesterday proscribed a dissident republican group suspected of involvement in this week’s car-bomb attack on a Catholic police officer. Mr Woodward said he had decided to specify the dissident group calling itself Oglaigh na hEireann (Irish Republican Army). The group, which is believed to be based in the Strabane area of Co Tyrone, was blamed for the murder of former dissident Andrew Burns in February. Mr Burns’s body was found with gunshot wounds close to a church in Doneyloop in Co Donegal. Police are also understood to be investigating whether the group played any role in a car-bomb attack in which a police officer in the Co Tyrone village of Castlederg was seriously injured on Monday evening. http://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/542/2008/5/15/587733_345430078290Dissidents.html

May 15, 6:36 AM EDT 4 suspected IRA dissidents arrested in NIreland BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Four suspected Irish Republican Army dissidents were arrested Thursday in connection with a bomb attack that wounded an officer earlier in the week, police said. The four, arrested in rural County Tyrone, were being questioned at the main police interrogation center west of Belfast in connection with Monday's attack, authorities said. A small bomb went off beneath the seat of the police officer's patrol car as he was driving to work. The officer - a Catholic - remained hospitalized Monday with wounds to his legs and back. Such booby-trap bombs were frequent during the IRA's failed 1970-97 campaign to oust Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom. Dissidents reject the IRA's decisions to renounce violence and disarm. © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Very interesting and surprisingly truthful account from the Associated Press.... e.g. "...the IRA's failed 1970-97 campaign to oust Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom...." It shows up the provo lie that their complete capitulation is a 'victory'

BBC NEWS Two arrested over car bomb attack A man and woman have been arrested in relation to the attempted murder of an off-duty policeman near Castlederg in County Tyrone. They were arrested on Friday night and have been taken to Antrim police station for questioning. Four men arrested at different locations in County Tyrone on Thursday morning, are still being held. The officer sustained leg injuries after a booby-trap bomb exploded in his car in Spamount on Monday. Dissident republicans have been blamed for the attack. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7406195.stm Published: 2008/05/17 10:03:24 GMT © BBC MMVIII