Claim 1998 IRA bomb warnings 'mishandled'

An official inquiry has concluded that anti-terrorist detectives in Northern Ireland failed to pass on warnings to rank-and-file officers before Irish Republican Army dissidents bombed the town of Omagh in 1998, killing 29 people, sources said yesterday.

Police ombudsman Nuala O'Loan began her probe in August when a police informer went public with his claims that he had warned of the attack.

News reports say O'Loan's report concludes that such warnings should have been distributed more widely within police ranks.