Man (20) for Belfast court on bomb charges

A man (20) is to appear in court in Belfast today charged in relation to a pipe bomb attack on an SDLP office in the city last…

A man (20) is to appear in court in Belfast today charged in relation to a pipe bomb attack on an SDLP office in the city last January.

The man was charged last night with trying to murder three people and with membership of a banned organisation, believed to be the loyalist Red Hand Defenders. He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court this morning.

The charges also relate to a pipe bomb attack on the home of the UDA's East Antrim commander, John Gregg, in Newtownabbey on December 22nd, 2002.

Gregg, a bitter enemy of Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, was shot dead earlier this year as he returned home from a Glasgow Rangers match. His home in Nendrum Gardens in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey had been attacked a number of times before his murder.