Dissident terrorists have failed in their attempt to blow up the PSNI Station in Augnacloy, County Tyrone. The terrorists left a 300lb bomb outside the station last night 17th June 2010, but it failed to explode. The PSNI station is situated close to dozens of houses and over 300 people had to be evacuated. This was a soft target for the terrorists as much of the military installations in Augnacloy have now been decommissioned following the GFA.
The town of Augnacloy has been doing well in recent years and both communities have been working well together. This cowardly attack by dissidents will have no impact on good community relations in the town. When both Catholics and Protestants were evacuated last night they were all cared for in the local Protestant Church Hall, so well done those good people.
See below - my press release 22/5/2010.
Gardai have this evening (Saturday) arrested two dissident republicans in an intelligence lead operation at Mountpleasant, outside Dundalk, County Louth. One of the men arrested is a former PIRA bomb maker now in his 50s. The two men were arrested while preparing two six foot long gas cylinders that were to be packed with explosives. Both cylinders had been extensively engineered in line with similar bombs used by the PIRA in the early 1990s.
Both men are now being held at Drogheda Garda station in County Louth. Both men have surrendered their clothes which will now be sent to the Gardai forensic lab for testing. Both men are refusing to answer any questions in relation to the bomb materials that they were found in posession of.
It is known that dissidents were preparing an attack in Fermanagh/South Tyrone in the event of a Unionist getting elected to that seat in the recent Westminster election, however, that attack was put on hold, after Sinn Fein took the seat, as it was believed that Unionist in-fighting would result from that Unionist failure and a dissident attack would serve no useful purpose at that time other than distract unionist minds.
The dissidents are believed to have at least one other significant bomb prepared and that attack will take place within the next couple of weeks.
By theirishobserver.blogspot.com
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