L O N D O N, Oct. 28 — Northern Ireland police
received warnings of a possible dissident Irish Republican Army
attack before the Omagh car-bomb atrocity, Britain's Channel 4
reported Monday.
The Aug. 15, 1998 blast by the Real IRA faction killed 29 people
and wounded more than 330, the single deadliest attack in the
33-year history of the Northern Ireland conflict.
Last December, Northern Ireland's independent auditor of police
performance, Nuala O'Loan, accused police of doing too little. Her
report highlighted two intelligence warnings received by police in
the days before the blast.
Monday night's report quoted a leaked police document claiming
that police received two other allegedly pertinent warnings: On Aug.
11, 1998, that IRA dissidents were "planning an operation," and
three days later, that dissidents had "incendiary devices for use
against commercial targets."
Police declined to comment on the Channel 4 report. They
previously rejected O'Loan's criticisms by noting that their force
receives huge volumes of intelligence tipoffs.
The Real IRA was founded to oppose the 1997 cease-fire being
observed by most IRA members.
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