Irish police warning after 'massive' bomb found

A MASSIVE bomb abandoned beneath a main road would have caused an Omagh-style massacre, Northern Ireland politicians said last night.

Detectives believe the bomb, found at an underpass near the border on the main Belfast to Dublin road, may have been destined for a town-centre attack.

Twenty-nine people and unborn twins were killed and 220 were injured in a republican bomb attack in the centre of Omagh, Co Tyrone, in August 1998.

While it is believed the presence of a police checkpoint forced the latest bombers to abandon the vehicle, hundreds of motorists drove past the device unaware of the danger after traffic cones and warning signs had been removed, and even driven over, by others on the road.

The blue Ford transit van, found near Newry, contained a wheelie bin packed with 500lb of home-made explosives.