26/03/2008

INLA Bomb Attack Foiled

A pipebomb disarmed in Dublin yesterday may have been the work of the republican terror group, the INLA.

The bomb was discovered in a Pringles crisp container, taped to the side of a maroon Nissan Almera. The car was in the car park in the centre of the Braithwaite Street flats complex in Pimlico.

Garda have linked the bomb attempt to senior INLA figures and local sources in the area have indicated the INLA have become more active in criminal elements in the city. It is understood the INLA have began taking money from drug dealers and intimidating them.

The bomb attempt is thought to involve the same people as a grenade attack in the Coombe area last June.

The International Monitoring Commission (IMC) said in a report last year that the INLA were becoming particularly active in Dublin.

The increasing activity has been linked to the release from prison last February of a leading member of the organisation, who is also thought to be behind the latest incident. A Dublin City Council worker spotted the device.

An Army bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion at 10.05am and gave the all-clear at 11.15am.

An army spokesman, describing the device as “viable”, said: "If you were standing next to it and it went off, you could have been killed or maimed. The disguising of this precarious, crude, homemade device in readily recognisable packaging is disturbing.

"This could have attracted the attention of children in the vicinity with potentially dangerous results."

The Army's Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team have now been called out 15 times this year to deal with suspect devices.

In the whole of 2007, they were only called out 14 times.

(DW)

Related Irish News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

21 October 2019
Major Security Alert In Dublin Following Discovery Of Suspicious Device
A security alert is ongoing in Dublin following the discovery of a suspicious device. According to reports, the area around Christ Church Cathedral in the city is closed off following the discovery. Roads around the cathedral have been closed while garda and Army Bomb experts investigate the device.
21 June 2013
Viable IED Found Under Car In South Dublin
A viable explosive device has been found under a car in south Dublin. According to the Irish Independent, a viable IED (improvised explosive device) was found under a car in the Glenshane area of Jobstown in Tallaght, south Dublin. The Army Bomb Disposal Team were called at around 21:25 and a number of residents evacuated from their homes.
22 September 2008
Suspicious Device Found At Dublin Pub
Bomb disposal experts were tasked to a Dublin pub on Sunday morning, after being alerted to the finding of a suspicious device. Experts examined the device found outside the north Dublin Jolly Toper premises, concealed in a package located in a vehicle in the car park on Church Street, Finglas at around 8.30am.
21 December 2018
Man Arrested After Producing Firearm And Device At Dublin Court
A man has been arrested in connection with an incident involving a firearm and suspected explosive device at the family law court in Dublin. On Thursday a hearing was underway when a man in the court produced a firearm and "a device".
17 November 2017
Explosive Device Discovered In Co Carlow
An investigation has been launched after army bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on a device in Co Carlow. The suspect explosive device was discovered in Kilmeaney on Thursday afternoon, 16 November. It has been described as a "complex viable improvised explosive device". The scene was declared safe at 6pm.