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'Miracle escape' as car bomb rocks court house in Northern Ireland
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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A car bomb exploded outside a court house in Newry city centre in Northern Ireland last night, the PSNI said.
Police said it was a 'miracle' no one was injured in the explosion outside Newry courthouse in Co Down shortly after 10.30pm.
The main gates were badly damaged in the explosion, which was within walking distance of restaurants and bars.
Police were still evacuating the scene when it detonated.
Two coded bomb warnings were received at a local hospital and business around 30 minutes before the device went off
Police Service of Northern Ireland area commander Chief Inspector Sam Cordiner condemned those responsible.
"It is only by sheer miracle that nobody was killed or injured," he said.
The vehicle was reversed into the security gates of the court before being abandoned.
The area remained cordoned off early this morning as Army bomb disposal experts checked for other devices.
MP for the area, Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy heard the blast while in his home more than four miles way.
"We can only be thankful that at this stage it appears nobody has been injured," he said at the scene.
"The people responsible have absolutely nothing to offer the community except the prospect of a return to the past.
"A lot of good people have worked long and hard to develop Newry over the last 10 years and this will be a major blow to the city. The community will be despairing tonight but they will be determined not to let this beat them."
The car bombing is the latest in a string of attacks by a minority of violent republican extremists intent on destabilising the peace process.
It came only three days after a failed mortar bomb attack at a police station in the nearby village of Keady, Co Armagh and weeks after the region's main political parties - Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists - struck a landmark deal on policing devolution that saved the fragile powersharing executive from possible collapse.
Last March, dissidents gunned down two soldiers at Massereene army barracks, Antrim. Two days later they shot dead police constable Stephen Carroll in Craigavon, Co Armagh as he answered a call for help.
In January this year a Roman Catholic police officer was seriously injured when a booby trap bomb exploded under his car in Co Antrim while a number of police stations have been shot at in recent weeks.
Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Peter Weir said the dissidents represented no right minded individuals.
"The shocking news of the car bomb tonight outside Newry Courthouse is a reminder of the depravity and cruel disregard for human life of dissident republicans," he said.
"These people care little for human life in their evil quest to drag us back to the past. It is both a reminder of the serious threat that they continue to pose, and of the need to continue to make political progress and continue to build a stable Northern Ireland. These people have no mandate and represent only a commitment to a terrorist past that we had all hoped to leave behind in Northern Ireland.
"Government must take a tough stance against these violent dinosaurs, and continue to commit every resource necessary in the fight against these evil people.
"Dissidents are also clearly threatened by the political progress made at Hillsborough, and it is vital that we isolate them by all parties showing leadership by backing a progressive way forward. It is also vital that the community as a whole help stamp out their activities once and for all by giving the police full co-operation and information on this terrible crime."
SDLP Assembly member for the area Dominic Bradley, who lives only two miles from the blast site, condemned the bombers.
"We could easily have been looking at serious casualties or worse this evening and it is no credit at all to the bombers that as far as is known there were no injuries," he said.
"People are saying that they got enough of this sort of thing during the Provo (Provisional IRA) campaign, it was wrong and senseless then and it is wrong now.
"They are very angry and they want the people responsible taken out of circulation and brought to justice."
Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy said: "It's a mercy and miracle there were no injuries or lives lost, either security force members, court service staff or local residents."
The Newry and Armagh MLA said the attack was evidence of a deteriorating security situation and called for a harder line police approach.
"The softly, softly approach taken by police in nationalist and republican areas clearly isn't working because dissident republicans are filling that policing vacuum," said Mr Kennedy.
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Comments
81 Comments
So if you or a member of your family were killed or maimed by such a course of action due to faulty intelligence or by mistaken identity, jomarco, you wouldn't mind?
Only an idiot would advocate a shoot to kill policy. Such extremism is the road to fascism.
Posted by Ulysses32 | 01.03.10, 10:50 GMT
If the dissidents are a tiny minority, and they have no support according to Sein Fein, then have a shoot to kill policy for 2 -3 months and take them out. Sure they have no support and no-one loves them. Who will miss them and call for enquiries? Sein Fein won't even argue. Or would they? Maybe they do have suport, maybe Sein Fein do support them. Maybe they are no different from the IRA. Maybe they are here for a long war? Beware, no one has control of these scum?
Posted by jomarco | 26.02.10, 16:58 GMT
grown up, try reading my last comment and, if you are grown up, you would perfectly understand the reason for my comment.
In saying that you may require some maturity to fully understand the critical intention of my previous comment.
My comment was biased in response to a surreal and biased comment? Really?
Posted by Ulysses32 | 25.02.10, 10:32 GMT
The fact is that a United Ireland at the moment would result in the Starvation of Dissidents as well as almost everyone else in Ireland. The seventy per cent of civil servants would take massive pay cuts and there is no industry here so that would be the end. The national question is now largely irrelevant because Europe runs most aspects of our lives, no matter what country flag flies. No one country in the world has the kind of autonomy that the extremists on ether side want. 9/11 Guaranteed that. We should be working for rights for everyone, not killing each other.
Posted by Hector | 25.02.10, 09:51 GMT
I'm a life long dedicated Irish Republican.
I am absolutely opposed to this. If I could I would destroy you and everything the so called IRA dissidents stand for.. get lost.
The Nationalists voted 97% for the good Friday agreement .. who in the name of God do you think you might represent ?
I will stand with Jackie McDonald and all those of common sense.
Is Mise
Antoin
Posted by Tony O'Neill | 25.02.10, 03:03 GMT
So billyboy the other Catholic Churches on this Island don't count. There are a number of different Catholic Churches, please try and read up a little on that fact
Posted by Tpau | 25.02.10, 00:37 GMT
The only way to deal with a terrorist threat is to bring back the old policy - Shoot to kill.
Posted by Stuart | 25.02.10, 00:31 GMT
I left Belfast a decade ago, so maybe I'm not as entitled to comment on this as others...still...the 'powers that be' should pull their collective fingers out and start doing what they are paid to do...protect and serve...or am I thinking of RoboCop, here? It's way past the time for the gloves to come off and deal with the matter in hand. I have no doubt that lists of people involved in these crimes can be dug up, it's a small place with big problems that still need to be addressed and no number of 'hands across the divides' will work as well as a frontal attack on the idiots that insist on carrying out these shameful acts. Inplace of sitting back and basking in a fuzzy glow of a job well done (sic) get out and earn your keep.
Col.
Posted by colgonk | 24.02.10, 17:43 GMT
ulyssess32 i wish your brain would keep up with your mouth. your inane rantings are a sad reflection on you, are you not embarrassed to still be in the name throwing stance like a little kid. join the grown ups who are trying to make a difference no one is interested in you or your biased outpourings.
Posted by grown up | 24.02.10, 17:40 GMT
I wonder how long it will be before the next Omagh-type atrocity occurs. The IRA doesn’t need to get control of justice and policing to keep their terrorist out of jail. Under the present system the Omagh bombers are still walking free.
Posted by SAM | 24.02.10, 17:30 GMT
It is alright for Matt Baggot. In just over 2 years when his contract runs out, he can go home to England, while we have to live here. I think the next chief Con should be from here. Because you don't do it on your own doorstep. And he will also have to live here.
Oh as well If this summer is going to be a hot one god help the psni they are going to be in for a rough ride. They are just about coping because they have the full time reserve but they will be all away by june. The New boys have no experience of riot control, no heart or stomach either.
Posted by linda | 24.02.10, 17:12 GMT
Apologies - Larry - not all directed toward you.
As for Ulysses - bit rich for you to call my opinion out-dated - suggest you revisit some of your own. I agree on your point about the scourge of Orange-ism - it is sectarianism. I am pointing out that the Good Friaday Agreement enshrines NI as part of the UK yet SF continue to up the ante with their Irish Unity rallies around the England preaching to the Irish diaspora and talk of Unity by 2016 is like the call of zionism to the homeland. It is an insipid form of bullying and like the so-called Dissidents with their violence, it will not force us to change our minds. I will abide by the democratic opinion of the people of NI. Remaining within the UK is not an out-dated belief in the same way that Irish unity is not necessarily a forward step. But building a NI of equals without bullying or violence is a forward move.
Posted by Democrat | 24.02.10, 16:42 GMT
Deary me billyboy. Complaining about this paper referring to "Roman Catholics"??
Nothing to say about yet another republican terrorist attrocity?
Perhaps you can't bring yourself to condemn it, as is your want.
Posted by mark's nemesis | 24.02.10, 16:24 GMT
"Continuing to invest in the right resources" does not equal "ready and able".
The neutered PSNI is, I'm sure, trying to tackle the so-called "dissident" threat with both hands tied behind its back. The whole issue of policing is so mired in politics that it is and will be next to useless in routing out these morons from the Nationalist/Republican Community. The recent SF comments from the Foyle DPP to stop the "Stop and Search" policy in that area is more evidence of the mire the PSNI is in. This current lot of republicans seem to have support in their areas. So if SF have such a control in these self same areas why are these thugs not being handed in?
Posted by Tangled Web | 24.02.10, 16:22 GMT
"PSNI ‘ready and able’ to deal with terrorist threat"
what are they going to do? use their speed guns to fire donuts at them?
Posted by BM | 24.02.10, 15:59 GMT
My comment at 12:43 was a direct response to the surreality of John's comment at 10:56.
Do I believe that Paisley stands by those words? Surely his actions in recent years is proof enough that they are from the past.
The relevance of quoting Ian Paisley, W Gould and benjibear, was to dredge something from the past and to show the absurdity of making it relevant to the present.
Posted by Ulysses32 | 24.02.10, 15:54 GMT
Steve, my comments are not nearly as negative as the bomb in Newry is, catch yourself on!
Posted by GA | 24.02.10, 15:52 GMT
Fight fire with fire, send in the British special forces and sort these people out.
Posted by John | 24.02.10, 15:50 GMT
It is obvious that there are so many emotions being touched upon in this debate. I understand the strong reasoning that has led many to leave N Ireland to live in other parts of the world. However, a stronger will exists in the hearts and minds of those of us who have lived through those terrible years, often witnessing the very worst of the 'troubles'. It is in the hope of a new N Ireland that I stayed after my degree and practiced my profession here.. hoping to influence the young people of our country to reach for a better future. I am saddened to see what has happened in these recent months... but i am still convinced that there is nowhere as lovely as my homeland. Nowhere as worth striving for as this wee place we call home. Catch yourself on and learn that difference doesnt have to mean division...
Posted by Jane | 24.02.10, 15:27 GMT
"Graham Smyth
It's easy to see that none of your relatives were killed by IRA murderers."
Syd, first off, my deepest condolences to you for your loss if you had a family member murdered in the Troubles. As a child of the Troubles I was also deeply affected by the IRA's campaign and grew up with daily bomb alerts and killings by republicans, loyalists and the security forces. That said, you're correct, I never lost a close relative. As I've said, I am truly sorry for your loss but I don't know what alternative there is other than to try to move on and accept change. The only alternative is to continue to hate and add to an anger that will ultiimately cause more people to lose their loved ones. I know that's easier to do if you haven't had a close loss, but it remains the only way to peace. That old saying, 'some lost all, but all lost some' is apt for Northern Ireland, but we can't continue to compare our wounds if we ever want them to heal.
Posted by Graham Smyth | 24.02.10, 14:41 GMT
81 Comments