Ken Brown <k.brown@ccs.bbk.ac.uk> writes:

In general the provisional IRA (*not* the same people as the "real IRA", who of course aren't) have given warnings when bombing what they would regard as "civilian" targets, though not against the British military or people they see as "collaborators" in Ireland. There have been 3 explosions near buildings I've worked in, and in each case there were police and firefighters there already. The Omagh business was quite different and done by different people.

It's the same people. The former quartermaster of PIRA Mickey McKevitt is currently the RIRA leader. PIRA also has had a history of fake and hoax warnings as well as a lack of central control of their "Active Service Units". "Most Real IRA members are former IRA" and "suspected of receiving funds from sympathizers in the United States." <http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/rira.htm> -- 1024/D9C69DF9 steve mynott steve@tightrope.demon.co.uk the surest protection against temptation is cowardice. -- mark twain