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Police say Semtex used in Northern Ireland attack
Attackers who targeted three Northern Ireland police officers used the explosive Semtex in a homemade grenade, police said yesterday, raising concerns about the activities of dissident members of the Irish Republican Army.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:32 August 19, 2008
London: Attackers who targeted three Northern Ireland police officers used the explosive Semtex in a homemade grenade, police said yesterday, raising concerns about the activities of dissident members of the Irish Republican Army.
The officers were on patrol in Lisnaskea, about 130km southwest of Belfast, on Saturday night when a man fired a homemade grenade launcher at them. The device didn't detonate, and the officers suffered severe shock and minor injuries.
Old
It was the first time in recent years that the explosive has been used. Police said they don't know where the Semtex came from, but that it appears to be old.
The plastic explosive, made in the Czech Republic, was regularly used by the IRA during its violent campaign against British rule.
"I believe it is Semtex which came into the province around the time the IRA got their supply of Semtex but how it transferred to this grouping I do not know," Northern Ireland police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton said.
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