Omagh Bombing
| Omagh bombing | |
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| Part of the Troubles | |
The red Vauxhall Cavalier containing the bomb. This photograph was taken shortly before the explosion; the camera was found afterwards in the rubble. The Spanish man and child seen in the photo both survived. The photographer, who was with the same group of Spanish tourists, was killed.
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| Location | Omagh, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°36′1.0116″N 7°17′55.9674″W / 54.600281000°N 7.298879833°WCoordinates: 54°36′1.0116″N 7°17′55.9674″W / 54.600281000°N 7.298879833°W |
| Date | 15 August 1998 3.10 pm (BST) |
| Target | Courthouse |
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Attack type
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Car bomb |
| Deaths | 29 |
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Non-fatal injuries
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About 220 initially reported, later stories say over 300. |
| Perpetrators | Real IRA (RIRA) |
The Omagh bombing was a car bombing that took place on 15 August 1998 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army, a Provisional Irish Republican Army splinter group who opposed the IRA's ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement. The bombing killed 29 people (including a woman pregnant with twins) as well as injuring some 220 others, the highest death toll from a single incident during the Troubles. Telephoned warnings had been sent about 40 minutes beforehand, but were claimed to be inaccurate and police had inadvertently moved people towards the bomb.
The bombing caused outrage both locally and internationally, spurred on the Northern Ireland peace process, and dealt a severe blow to the 'dissident' republican campaign. The Real IRA apologised and declared a ceasefire shortly after. The victims included people from many backgrounds: Protestants, Catholics, a Mormon teenager, five other teenagers, six children, a mother pregnant with twins, two Spanish tourists, and other tourists on a day trip from the Republic of Ireland. Both unionists and Irish nationalists were killed and injured.
It has been alleged that the British, Irish and US intelligence agencies had information which could have prevented the bombing, most of which came from double agents inside the Real IRA. This information was not given to the local police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). In 2008 it was revealed that British intelligence agency GCHQ was monitoring conversations between the bombers as the bomb was being driven into Omagh.
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Wikipedia