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Woman held over Omagh bomb freed

She was one of seven people seized in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, on Monday.

Five men were also arrested on the same day in connection with the Omagh bombing by the RUC in south Armagh.

All the suspects are being questioned about the theft of the maroon-coloured car used in the atrocity on 15 August.

Five men were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the bombing but were subsequently released without charge.

A total of 29 people were killed by the 500lb bomb, which ripped out the centre of the Northern Irish town.

The Real IRA, a dissident group that split from the main IRA, said it planted the bomb that exploded in the town's main street.

Utter carnage

Hundreds of shoppers were injured in the explosion, many losing limbs or suffering brain damage.

Those who survived the blast, in a busy shopping area of Omagh, County Tyrone, described scenes of utter carnage.

Police were clearing an area near the local courthouse, 40 minutes after receiving a telephone warning, when the bomb detonated.

But the warning was unclear and shoppers evacuated by the police were sent in the direction of the car bomb.

Pregnant women and children were among the dead, many of whom, only moments before the blast, had been standing behind white tape which police had erected when clearing the streets.

New legislation

In response to the Omagh atrocity, the UK and Irish governments passed emergency anti-terror legislation.

Under the Criminal Justice (Terrorism & Conspiracy) Act, courts are able to give full weight to police evidence about the likelihood of suspects belonging to paramilitary organisations.

The new legislation gives courts the power to convict suspects on the opinion of a senior police officer that they are members of a paramilitary organisation.

In the Irish Republic, under legislation which was also rushed through, the Offences Against the State Act allows similar measures.