British police investigating the Brixton bomb may not have ruled out the possible involvement of one of the dissident Irish terrorist groups, writes Jim Cusack, Security Correspondent.
Despite suggestions by British political figures that there is no evidence to link the bomb attack on shoppers in Electric Road, Brixton, to an Irish terrorist group, it is known that some republicans, including those responsible for the Omagh bombing last August, have been considering a renewed bombing campaign.
Last week the Irish News in Belfast quoted sources close to the "Real" IRA, which admitted the Omagh bombing, as saying it was preparing to break the ceasefire it had imposed on itself in the wake of the killing of the 29 people in Omagh.
Also, last month it was learned that the Garda Special Branch had detected a bomb being prepared by the other dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA. However, sources said this was a large device probably intended for a car-bomb-type attack in Northern Ireland.
The device which exploded in Brixton, according to eyewitnesses, was a small parcel wrapped in clear tape. A market trader who moved the device shortly before it exploded said he could see nails through the clear plastic covering.
The description of the device suggests it is unlike any used by the Provisional IRA.
The devices used by the Provisionals, including the one which killed the two young boys in Warrington in March 1993, were probably more sophisticated in design. However, the Provisionals used bombs containing nails or other shrapnel on several occasions in Britain.
The dissident republicans have not fully acquired the bomb-making skills of the Provisional IRA although most of the dissidents are ex-Provisionals who learned their trade during the 1970s and 1980s.
The dissidents have tried, at least twice, to transport explosives to Britain but have been intercepted.
Also, they have a track record of carrying out or attempting to carry out bombings at crucial moments in the political negotiations in the North.
Alternatively, the device could have been planted by a racist group as the Electric Avenue area has a large ethnic minority population.
