Police say dissident Republicans were probably behind an attempted bomb attack on a former British soldier. The booby trap device, which was made up of two pounds of Semtex explosive and a mercury tilt switch detonator, was found beneath the man's car in the Meadow Park area of Sion Mills in County Tyrone.
British Army bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on the device. The intended target was a former member of the Royal Irish Regiment who retired three years ago. Around 150 houses were evacuated during the bomb alert.
Inspector Harry Johnston of the PSNI, said he believed the device had been designed to kill. "I dread to think what would have happened had the bomb exploded in this built up area," the Inspector said.
