IRA Claims Responsibility in Bombings

The Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility Friday for planting two bombs that disrupted rail service in northern England and broke a nine-month lull in bombings on mainland Britain.

The admission heightened fears that the outlawed guerrilla group is embarking on a bombing campaign ahead of Britain’s general elections May 1. The IRA’s brief statement included no threats, but a bombing campaign would generate huge publicity for its political wing, Sinn Fein, which is fielding candidates in Northern Ireland.

The claim was made by someone who phoned the Dublin newsroom of Ireland’s RTE broadcasting network, using a recognized code word.

A man using an IRA code word had telephoned warnings before the explosions early Wednesday at Wilmslow, an important rail junction about 160 miles northwest of London. The bombs tore up track and destroyed signaling equipment.

Investigators searched Friday for possible links with the last IRA bombing in England--a 3,000-pound bomb that injured 200 people and damaged more than 300 shops in Manchester last June.

Like the Manchester bomb and previous IRA attacks in London’s business district, the explosions in Wilmslow seemed planned to cause maximum economic damage.

Rail service on key north-south lines in Britain were disrupted for much of Wednesday but were almost back to normal Thursday.

Detectives said they had received numerous calls from people about suspicious cars and people.

Forensic scientists were examining debris and other material gathered by police during a search of the railroad line.

The IRA ended a 17-month cease-fire in February 1996. It claimed that efforts to bring peace to British-ruled Northern Ireland were not making enough progress.