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Blast rocks Belfast court building
January 6, 1997
Web posted at: 10:35 a.m. EST (1515 GMT)BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- Belfast's Royal Courts of Justice was the apparent target of a rocket that exploded in front of the building Monday morning.
Belfast's Downtown Radio station received a coded phone call saying that the Irish Republican Army was responsible for the attack. The caller also said that bombs had been left at other locations in the city.
No serious injuries were reported in the explosion, which struck a security post at an entrance to the building. The court, which was badly damaged in a 1989 attack by the IRA, is surrounded by a high concrete wall.
Shortly after the blast, an abandoned car was found burning in a nearby Catholic neighborhood. IRA bombers often burn their getaway cars to destroy evidence, police said.
Police defused an IRA bomb discovered at Belfast Castle on New Year's Eve and British army bomb experts handled a small bomb found on the border with the Irish Republic.
The IRA ended a 17-month cease-fire last February when it set off a truck bomb in London.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Ex-IRA member tells of alleged plot to kill British royals - December 27, 1996
- IRA claims responsibility for hospital shooting - December 21, 1996
- Major, Bruton plead for new IRA cease-fire - December 8, 1996
- Suspect questioned in IRA bombing - October 10, 1996
Related sites:
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- Northern Ireland: Frameworks for the Future
- Northern Ireland Information Centre
- Northern Ireland Government Home Page
- Sinn Fein - Home Page
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