FEARS OF BORDER BOMB ATTACK
Fears of border bomb attack
By Martin Breen and Noel McAdam
FEARS grew today of an imminent Real IRA bomb attack along the border after a car was hijacked at gunpoint in Co Monaghan.
The hijacking comes just days after the dissident terror group was linked to a bomb left on a London railway line.
The vehicle was taken at gunpoint outside Tavey's Bar in the village of Cremartin four miles from Castleblaney.
The bar is located just a short distance from Ready in south Armagh. When the owner came out of the premises he was confronted by an armed man who demanded the car keys. The hijacker was accompanied by another person.
Gardai fear the vehicle may have been snatched by the Real IRA for transporting explosives across the border or for use to bomb a security base. A Garda spokesman said: "There is a major security alert- we are trying desperately to find the vehicle."
Earlier this month a bomb blew a hole in the railway line between Belfast and Dublin at south Armagh.
Meanwhile, the latest incident came as Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern make preparations for a special summit in the next fortnight to focus on the heightened security threat from dissident republicans. A Northern Ireland Office spokesman said the top-level talks - before the two Premiers are due to take their own holidays - were a "possibility at this stage".
Mr Blair is believed to have asked for the meeting following the disruption caused to central London on Thursday by a bomb alert.
It comes as First Minister David Trimble demanded Mr Ahern use legislation passed following the Omagh bomb atrocity to pursue renegade republicans.
By Martin Breen and Noel McAdam
FEARS grew today of an imminent Real IRA bomb attack along the border after a car was hijacked at gunpoint in Co Monaghan.
The hijacking comes just days after the dissident terror group was linked to a bomb left on a London railway line.
The vehicle was taken at gunpoint outside Tavey's Bar in the village of Cremartin four miles from Castleblaney.
The bar is located just a short distance from Ready in south Armagh. When the owner came out of the premises he was confronted by an armed man who demanded the car keys. The hijacker was accompanied by another person.
Gardai fear the vehicle may have been snatched by the Real IRA for transporting explosives across the border or for use to bomb a security base. A Garda spokesman said: "There is a major security alert- we are trying desperately to find the vehicle."
Earlier this month a bomb blew a hole in the railway line between Belfast and Dublin at south Armagh.
Meanwhile, the latest incident came as Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern make preparations for a special summit in the next fortnight to focus on the heightened security threat from dissident republicans. A Northern Ireland Office spokesman said the top-level talks - before the two Premiers are due to take their own holidays - were a "possibility at this stage".
Mr Blair is believed to have asked for the meeting following the disruption caused to central London on Thursday by a bomb alert.
It comes as First Minister David Trimble demanded Mr Ahern use legislation passed following the Omagh bomb atrocity to pursue renegade republicans.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0741
Published Date: 22-Jul-00
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