Group calling itself IRA claims it sent parcel bombs to UK addresses
A group calling itself the IRA has claimed it sent explosive devices to three London transport hubs and the University of Glasgow last week as well as another, which has yet to be found.
Police Scotland and the Metropolitan police said in a joint statement that the claim was received on Monday by a media organisation in Northern Irelandusing a recognised codeword.
They said: “Those claiming responsibility have indicated five devices were sent. At this time, only four devices have been recovered.
“Extensive advice has already been issued to relevant businesses and sectors to be vigilant for and report suspicious packages to police. This advice was previously sent to armed forces personnel and is being reiterated again in light of this claim.
“We continue to urge the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to police.”
The forces said that even before receipt of the claim of responsibility they were exploring the possibility of IRA involvement, as the packages bore similarities to devices sent in the past linked to dissident groups associated with Northern Ireland-related terrorism. No arrests have been made.
Detectives from the Met’s counter-terrorism command are leading the investigation into the three packages received in London on Tuesday last week, while Police Scotland are leading the investigation into the package received at the University of Glasgow last Wednesday.
Homemade devices were found in the post room at London Waterloo station, City Aviation House at London City airport and the Compass Centre, close to the grounds of Heathrow airport, last Tuesday.
All three packages had stamps from the Irish Republic and had Dublin as the return address. They bore stamps issued by Ireland’s post office to mark Valentine’s Day, with the explosive devices stuffed into A4-size yellow Jiffy bags contained within white postal bags.
Investigators said they believed the devices had not been designed to kill. No one was injured. The only package opened was that at the Compass Centre, which caused the device to initiate, resulting in part of the package burning.
On Wednesday, bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion of a device found in the main campus mailroom at Glasgow University. The package had not been opened and again no one was injured.
There were other alerts, resulting in evacuations on Wednesday, at the University of Essex and Royal Bank of Scotland offices, but in both cases they turned out to be false alarms.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...s-uk-addresses
