Irish blasts may herald pre-Christmas blitz security men fear

Press, 28 November 1979, Page 8

Irish blasts may herald pre-Christmas blitz security men fear

NZPA-Reuter Belfast Irish republican guerrillas have bombed trains, shops, and offices, injuring eight people, one seriously, in the worst bombing offensive in Northern Ireland this year. The guerrillas planted 21 devices at 13 targets in eight towns across the province in what security officials fear is the start of a carefully planned pre-Christ-mas offensive. The provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army, which is fighting to end

t British rule in the province, claimed responsibility for : the attacks. , Security spokesmen said : all but one of the devices : were fire bombs. But in Amagh, 80km west of Belfast, a car bomb exploded, injuring four civilians and i two British soldiers. Belfast, was worst hit. Bombs timed to go off dur- ; ing the evening rush hour - wrecked a plush hotel, exploded in a commuter train ’ and went off in an office, a supermarket, and an elec--1 tronics store.

The bombers also struck at small towns in Fermanagh county, which borders on the Irish Republic, but no-one was injured. Two people were hurt, one very seriously, when a bomb planted at the office of a legal firm in Lurgan, 30 km west of Belfast, exploded without warning. ' Commuters on their way home spotted a bomb in a train at Belfast station. It was carried to the platform and went off without injuring anyone.