A court in Belfast has heard that a man claiming to be associated with the Omagh bombers told a journalist they 'regretted' killing 29 people in the incident.
At the trial at Belfast Crown Court of Sean Hoey, a prosecution lawyer told the court a journalist with the Irish News had received a phonecall from a male caller three days after the explosion in August 1998.
The lawyer quoted from a statement in which the journalist said the caller told him that 'at no time' did any of the warning telephone calls made to the UTV Newsroom and to The Samaritans claim that the bomb was close to the courthouse, claiming instead that it was a 'commercial target'.
The reporter also said the caller claimed it was not their intention to kill civilians.
When asked by the journalist if they regretted the deaths, he was told, 'of course we regret the deaths - we never meant to kill any civilians'.
The caller also told the journalist the call was in response to appeals from the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and he also revealed to the journalist that 'operations will be suspended from midnight'.
Sean Hoey, 37, from Molly Road in Jonesborough, Co Armagh denies a total of 58 charges, including the Omagh bombing in which 29 people, including unborn twins, died.
The trial also heard that, in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb, police officers had combed through 30 tonnes of rubble in an effort to find clues.
The court heard that the rubble and debris was held inside 13 skips and 17 wheelie bins. A detective constable said it took officers close to a week to search through all of it.
The trial continues.
