VITAL EVIDENCE LINKS BOMB TO FIVE OTHER BLASTS
Vital evidence links bomb to five others blasts
By MARY O'CARROLL
ANTI-TERRORIST police sifting through the 30 tonnes of rubble collected in Omagh have pieced together the timing and power unit used by the bomb makers.
The RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan yesterday appealed to shopkeepers in border areas who may had sold the plastic sandwich boxes with turquoise Addis lids to come forward with information.
The findings by the 10-strong team of Scotland Yard's SO13 anti-terrorist officers working alongside an RUC team has raised hopes that the Omagh bombers may be unearthed. Police linked yesterday's findings to five other attacks by dissident republicans.
Mr Flanagan praised the specialist officers' efforts saying this had resulted in the recovery of a tremendous amount of valuable evidence.
He said: "We have been able virtually to reconstruct the timing power unit used in this bomb. I have no doubt that this along with other lines of inquiry will lead us to the people who detonated that device with such devastating effect.''
The chief constable said the police had received a lot of help from members of the public. "We are determined to bring to justice the people who carried out this atrocity and we are determined to leave no stone unturned,'' he said.
Meanwhile Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam yesterday published a consultation paper on the review of the criminal justice system in the North.
The review which began in June is being carried out by a group of government officials and five independent assessors working in parallel with the Patten Police Commission.
The Review Group welcomes written comments by October 30.
Meanwhile, a relative of one of those slain in the bombing complained about the planned visit of US President Bill Clinton to Omagh next week. on Sept. 3.
"Is he really trying to hijack our grief?'' said Oliver Gibson, a hard-line Protestant politician who lost his 36-year-old niece, Esther. "Because our grief is genuine, it's very deep. And this man has misled and let down his own country, and even lied to his own family.''
Gibson said he suspected Clinton hoped to "cover and smother his own domestic troubles'' by visiting the town.
By MARY O'CARROLL
ANTI-TERRORIST police sifting through the 30 tonnes of rubble collected in Omagh have pieced together the timing and power unit used by the bomb makers.
The RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan yesterday appealed to shopkeepers in border areas who may had sold the plastic sandwich boxes with turquoise Addis lids to come forward with information.
The findings by the 10-strong team of Scotland Yard's SO13 anti-terrorist officers working alongside an RUC team has raised hopes that the Omagh bombers may be unearthed. Police linked yesterday's findings to five other attacks by dissident republicans.
Mr Flanagan praised the specialist officers' efforts saying this had resulted in the recovery of a tremendous amount of valuable evidence.
He said: "We have been able virtually to reconstruct the timing power unit used in this bomb. I have no doubt that this along with other lines of inquiry will lead us to the people who detonated that device with such devastating effect.''
The chief constable said the police had received a lot of help from members of the public. "We are determined to bring to justice the people who carried out this atrocity and we are determined to leave no stone unturned,'' he said.
Meanwhile Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam yesterday published a consultation paper on the review of the criminal justice system in the North.
The review which began in June is being carried out by a group of government officials and five independent assessors working in parallel with the Patten Police Commission.
The Review Group welcomes written comments by October 30.
Meanwhile, a relative of one of those slain in the bombing complained about the planned visit of US President Bill Clinton to Omagh next week. on Sept. 3.
"Is he really trying to hijack our grief?'' said Oliver Gibson, a hard-line Protestant politician who lost his 36-year-old niece, Esther. "Because our grief is genuine, it's very deep. And this man has misled and let down his own country, and even lied to his own family.''
Gibson said he suspected Clinton hoped to "cover and smother his own domestic troubles'' by visiting the town.
Further Information
Publisher: IRISH INDEPENDENT
Ref: II/128
Published Date: 28-Aug-98
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