The Osnabrück mortar attack was an improvised
mortar attack carried out by a
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
(IRA) unit based in mainland Europe on 28 June 1996 against the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's Quebec Barracks at
Osnabrück Garrison
Osnabrück Garrison was a major British garrison with facilities located at Osnabrück in Lower Saxony and Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was home to 4th Armoured Brigade and most of its subordinate units. It formed a major part ...
near
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
, Germany.
Background
The main participants in
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
, in particular the
British Government and the IRA, had accepted by the early 1990s that they could not resolve the conflict by force. The IRA believed that greater progress towards republican objectives might be achieved by negotiation. In this context, the IRA declared a "permanent cessation" of hostilities on 31 August 1994.
The IRA called off this ceasefire on 9 February 1996 because of the exclusion of
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
from the peace talks. They ended the truce by detonating a
truck bomb at Canary Wharf in London, which caused serious damage to property and, despite advance warning from the IRA, the deaths of two civilians. In early June 1996, another
truck bomb devastated Manchester city centre.
The Provisional IRA activities of 1996–1997 were used to gain leverage in negotiations with the British government during the period.
The attack
The attack took place at 18:50, local time, when three
Mark 15 mortar bombs were launched from an open
Ford Transit van. The devices contained more than 180 lb (81.64 kg) of explosive in each projectile. The van had been modified by a former British Army engineer, Michael Dickson, who built the launch platform and aimed the tubes towards the barracks.
[ The tubes were screwed to the floor of the van and masked with tarpaulins. Two of the bombs fell short of the perimeter fence and failed to explode, but the third went off 20 yards (18.3 mt) inside the base, leaving a crater near a petrol pump. No fire was ignited, but several buildings, cars and armoured vehicles were damaged by the blast.][Plates on bomb van traced to Yorkshire]
The Independent, 30 June 1996 The destruction was described as 'substantial'.["McAliskey extradition bid refused"]
BBC News, 23 November 2007 There were 150 soldiers inside the facilities at the time,
Irish Independent, 24 December 2003 but none were injured.[ An explosive charge was left in the vehicle with the intention of destroying forensic evidence, but the intact van's plates allowed it to be traced to ]Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
.[
The IRA unit was composed of five members, two of them women, who had rented a holiday home in northern Germany where they built the mortar launchers. Dickson later claimed at his trial that he had no experience in handling explosives during his career in the British Army's Royal Engineers. Dickson had served in several British bases in Germany, but never in Northern Ireland. ]Róisín McAliskey
Róisín Elizabeth McAliskey (born 1971) is the daughter of Irish republican activist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey and Michael McAliskey. She was once accused by German authorities of having been involved in an attack claimed by the Provisional IR ...
(daughter of republican activist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey
Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader, and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in Nort ...
) and Jimmy Corrie were also suspected of being members of the cell. The primary aim of the IRA with these events was reportedly to establish a permanent presence in mainland Europe.[
]
Aftermath
John Major, Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, said that the assault showed how the IRA and Sinn Féin were isolating themselves from the peace process.[ ]John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader o ...
, Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...
of Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, described the IRA strategy as "utterly pointless".
Whereas in 1994–95, the British Conservative Party government had refused to enter public talks with Sinn Féin until the IRA had given up its weapons, the Labour Party government in power by 1997 was prepared to include Sinn Féin in peace talks before IRA decommissioning. This precondition was officially dropped in June 1997.
Michael Dickson was arrested in December 2002 on an international arrest warrant relating to the 1996 mortar attack whilst he was driving a lorry-load of contraband cigarettes and tobacco at Ruzyne Airport in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. He was extradited to Germany and sentenced to six and a half years for attempted murder and setting off an explosion.[ He served his sentence in Celle maximum security prison in Germany, and was released after serving 27 months of his sentence.Scot IRA Bomber back on the streets]
The Daily Record, 7 March 2006 Róisin McAliskey battled successfully against the extradition warrant issued by Germany.[
]
See also
*1985 Newry mortar attack
On 28 February 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. The attack killed nine RUC officers and inj ...
*1994 British Army Lynx shootdown
On 19 March 1994, a British Army Westland Lynx, Lynx helicopter was shot down by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland. A unit of the IRA's Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade, South Armagh Brigade fired a heavy Barra ...
*Barrack buster
Barrack buster is the colloquial name given to several improvised mortars, developed in the 1990s by the engineering unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
The improvised mortar properly called "barrack buster" - known to the British ...
* Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1990–1999)
*Downing Street mortar attack
The Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 7 February 1991. The IRA launched three homemade mortar shells at 10 Downing Street, London, the headquarters of the British government, in an ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osnabruck mortar attack
20th-century history of the British Army
20th century in Lower Saxony
1996 crimes in Germany
1996 in military history
Attacks on buildings and structures in Germany
Attacks on military installations in the 1990s
Battles and conflicts without fatalities
British forces in Germany
Conflicts in 1996
Crime in Lower Saxony
Explosions in 1996
Improvised explosive device bombings in Germany
June 1996 events in Europe
Military actions and engagements during the Troubles (Northern Ireland)
Osnabrück
Provisional Irish Republican Army actions
Provisional Irish Republican Army actions in continental Europe
Terrorist incidents in Germany