UK News 03-09-2003 Omagh Atrocity Arrests who: Alleged Real IRA bombmaker Sean Hoey what: Arrested with his wife in police Omagh bombing murder swoop where: ARMAGH when: Yesterday snippet: "Two people were arrested yesterday in south Armagh by detectives investigating the Omagh attack in which a Real IRA bomb killed 29 people in August 1998," reports The Independent. "A man and a woman were arrested in the border area of Jonesborough in a large-scale operation which involved 200 police and troops. Security forces continue to operate warily in the strongly republican district." Alleged Real IRA bombmaker Sean Hoey and his wife, who had been under surveillance for some time, are being questioned in connection with a number of terrorist related offences. The suspects are named by David Lister, Ireland correspondent to The Times. "Senior security sources confirmed the arrests represented a significant breakthrough in the five-year hunt," says The Scotsman. "But it was still unclear if charges were imminent. The pair were being interrogated at Gough Barracks, Armagh city, and can be held for up to 48 hours." "Although dozens of arrests have been made since the atrocity," says The Times, "only one person, Colm Murphy, a member of the Continuity IRA, has been convicted in connection with the blast and no one has been charged with murder." [... more]

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