The dissident Real IRA last night claimed it was behind a large bomb left outside the law courts in Belfast city centre on Wednesday night. The device, three pipe bombs attached to 75 litres of petrol and a timer, was made safe by army experts in a controlled explosion. Senior police officers said it was unstable and could have gone off at any time. Three masked men hijacked a van in north Belfast and forced its driver to take the device to the courts. The man then reported it to police. The attempted attack, which was condemned by politicians on all sides, took place as the Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, and the Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, prepared to meet President George Bush at the White House for St Patrick’s Day. They are trying to reach an agreement to re-establish the devolved government at Stormont. Mr Trimble will not return to power-sharing with Sinn Fein unless the Provisional IRA decommissions its weapons. The breakaway Real IRA and Continuity IRA are trying to put pressure on mainstream repub licans by increasing violence. The glass-fronted court house was opened by the Queen last month. Full Story
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