Seven men are still being questioned by Gardaí and the RUC in connection with the bombing of Omagh in which 29 people died and nearly 300 were injured, on August 15 last. The men were arrested early today in a series of raids north and south of the border.
Five of the men were arrested by Gardaí during house raids in the Dundalk area, as part of an ongoing cross-border investigation into the bomb. Two of the men are believed to be in their 30s, one in his 50s while another is thought to be 60.
They are said to include a key member of the hardline republican splinter group the Real IRA, which admitted responsibility for the Omagh bomb and declared a permanent ceasefire a short time later.
Two men were arrested by the RUC in County Armagh. The County Louth men are being detained under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act. Three are being held at Monaghan Garda Station and two at Carrickmacross, the town where the car used in the attack was stolen days before the bombing.
According to unconfirmed reports, a father and son were also among the five men being quizzed by detectives. Police sources north and south of the border said that all the arrests were regarded as significant.
