British Confirm N. Ireland Blast
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BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Authorities confirmed an explosion outside a Northern Ireland police station and ordered a probe Thursday into the shooting of an unarmed man that followed.
The explosion Wednesday night and two others in England raised concerns of an Irish Republican Army bombing campaign ahead of May elections in Britain.
There had been confusion about the Wednesday evening blast in Coalisland, a mainly Roman Catholic town 30 miles west of Belfast, the capital. Some witnesses said the blast may have been a stun grenade thrown by undercover troops who then opened fire.
Martin McGuinness, a leader of Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, described the shooting as “an unprovoked murderous attack” by police.
Police said a hole blown in the perimeter security fence of the police station was consistent with a bomb weighing more than 2 pounds.
The injured 19-year-old man underwent surgery for a gunshot wound in the stomach. Police said he was arrested in the hospital for questioning later. Two other men were also arrested.
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