Forensic Science Laboratory bombing

{{Short description|1992 IRA attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox terrorist attack

|partof=the Troubles

|title=Forensic Science Laboratory bombing

|image=

|caption=

|location=Newtownbreda, Belfast, Northern Ireland

|target=Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory

|date=23 September 1992

|time=

|timezone=UTC

|type=Van bomb

|fatalities= 0

|injuries=20[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch92.htm CAIN - 1992 Chronology]

|perp=Provisional Irish Republican Army
South Armagh Brigade

}}

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) targeted the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory (NIFSL) facilities on Newtownbreda Road in the southern outskirts of Belfast with a large 3,000 lb bomb on 23 September 1992. The huge impact of the bomb destroyed the lab and damaged over 1,000 homes within a 1.5 mile radius, including adjacent Belvoir Park, a Protestant housing estate.{{cite web |last1=John D.|first1=Taylor |author-link=John Taylor, Baron Kilclooney |title=Bomb Damage (Newtownbreda) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1993/feb/01/bomb-damage-newtownbreda#S6CV0218P0_19930201_HOC_587 |publisher=UK Government |access-date=22 May 2015 |work =Hansard, HC Deb, 01 February 1993, Vol. 218, cc117-24 |date=1 February 1993 }}{{cite news |title=IRA blast damages over 1,000 homes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ira-blast-damages-over-1000-homes-1553260.html |access-date=22 May 2015 |work=The Independent |date=24 September 1992}} It was one of the biggest bombs ever detonated during Northern Ireland's Troubles, causing massive damage and being felt over 10 miles away.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-41306262|title='Biggest' IRA bomb targeted NI justice|last=Kearney|first=Vincent|date=2017-09-19|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-06-03|language=en-GB}} Hundreds of residents had to be treated for shock. Several military vehicles were damaged.{{Cite book|title=IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity.|last=Oppenheimer|first=A.R.|publisher=Irish Academic Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7165-2895-1|pages=96}} The lab was a key target because it analysed evidence in cases involving IRA attacks.{{cite news |last=Cowley |first=Martin |date=24 September 1992 |title=Bombing of forensic lab likely to disrupt courts |newspaper=The Irish Times |publisher=The Irish Times }} The IRA had given a warning, and British Army bomb disposal experts were investigating an abandoned van when the explosion occurred. One estimate put the repair damage cost at £20 million at the time.{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/damage-in-huge-blast-put-at-20m-pounds-a-belfast-housing-estate-counts-the-cost-of-an-ira-bomb-which-1553481.html|title=Damage in huge blast put at 20m pounds: A Belfast housing estate|work=The Independent|access-date=2018-06-03|language=en-GB}}

According to journalist and author Toby Harnden, the attack was planned and carried out from beginning to end by the IRA South Armagh Brigade. Volunteers from the brigade hijacked a truck near Newry and packed it with explosives weighing {{Convert|3500|lb|kg|abbr=}}. They left the truck outside the Forensic Science Laboratory at 8:40pm. Nearly 45 minutes later, after a coded warning, the bomb exploded.Toby Harnden Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh pp.16