The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has said that he unreservedly condemns the overnight car bomb attack on the RUC station in Stewartstown in County Tyrone. Mr Ahern described it as a sinister act, which amounted to an affront to all Irish people who voted for peace. The North's Deputy First Minister, Seamus Mallon, said that the attack, which caused extensive damage to the station and nearby houses, was designed to heighten tension around today's Drumcree parade. The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, said that it was too early to be definitive but he suspected that the Real IRA was behind the attack. He said that those who carried out such attacks carried them out on communities and not on the RUC. The Northern Secretary Peter Mandelson paid tribute to RUC officers who risked their lives in clearing the area when the device exploded.
The blast occurred outside the heavily fortified RUC station shortly before 1am. One person was treated for shock but the RUC say that there were no other casualties. Police began evacuating houses in the area after being alerted to an abandoned vehicle outside the station by a passer-by at 11.30pm last night. Witnesses said that a sheet of flame burst from the car, blowing out windows in nearby houses and scattering rubble over a wide area. A late telephone warning was given only after the police had begun removing people from the area.
