Osnabrück mortar attack - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Michael Dickson (Irish republican)) 1996 IRA attack in Germany

Osnabrück mortar attack
Part of the Troubles
A Spartan armoured carrier, a type of vehicle deployed at Osnabrück as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade

Location	Osnabrück, Germany
Coordinates	52°18′1″N 7°58′59″E / 52.30028°N 7.98306°E / 52.30028; 7.98306
Date	28 June 1996 18:50 (UTC+01:00)
Target	British Army Quebec barracks
Attack type	Mortar
Deaths	0
Injured	0
Perpetrators	Provisional IRA

v t e The Troubles in Britain and continental Europe
1970 – 1981 Aldershot bombing Old Bailey bombing King's Cross & Euston bombings Westminster bombing M62 coach bombing Parliament bombing Tower of London bombing Guildford pub bombings Woolwich pub bombing Birmingham pub bombings Pillar box bombings Talbot Arms bombing Bristol bombing Carlton Tower and Portman Hotel shootings Caterham bombing Hilton bombing Piccadilly bombing Walton's bombing Biddy Mulligan's bombing Balcombe St siege West Ham attack Olympia bombing Airey Neave killing Glasgow pub bombings Brussels bombing Chelsea Barracks bombing 1982 – 1998 Hyde & Regent's Park bombings Harrods bombing Brighton hotel bombing Rheindahlen bombing Operation Flavius 1988 Netherlands attacks Glamorgan barracks bombing Deal barracks bombing Wembley bombing Roermond killings Lichfield shooting Carlton bombing London Stock Exchange bombing Downing Street mortar attack Paddington & Victoria bombings London Bridge bombing Baltic Exchange bombing Staples Cnr bombing Sussex Arms bombing Stoke Newington bomb 1992 Manchester bombing Warrington bombings 1993 Harrods bombing Camden bombing Bishopsgate bombing Bournemouth bombs Finchley Rd bombings Heathrow mortar attacks Docklands bombing Aldwych bombing 1996 Manchester bombing Osnabrück attack See also: The Troubles in Ireland and Assassinations during the Troubles

The Troubles
in Britain and continental Europe

1970 – 1981

1982 – 1998

The Osnabrück mortar attack was an improvised mortar attack carried out by a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit based in mainland Europe on 28 June 1996 against the British Army's Quebec Barracks at Osnabrück Garrison near Osnabrück, Germany.

Background

The main participants in the Troubles, 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 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 that 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. The destruction was described as 'substantial'. There were 150 soldiers inside the facilities at the time, 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.

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 (daughter of republican activist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey) 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 of the United Kingdom, said that the assault showed how the IRA and Sinn Féin were isolating themselves from the peace process. John Bruton, Taoiseach of Ireland, 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. 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. Róisin McAliskey battled successfully against the extradition warrant issued by Germany.

References

Taylor, Peter (1999). Behind the mask: The IRA and Sinn Féin, Chapter 21: Stalemate, pp. 246–261. ISBN 1-57500-077-6,
CAIN – Chronology of events – August 1994
O'Brien, Brendan (1999). The Long War – The IRA and Sinn Féin. Syracuse University Press, pp. 370–371. ISBN 0-8156-0319-3
Geraghty, Tony (2000). The Irish War. Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 193. ISBN 0-00-255617-0
^ "Ex-soldier jailed for IRA attack on base", Irish Independent, 24 December 2003
Barnaby, Frank (1996). Instruments of terror. Vision Paperbacks, p. 30; ISBN 1-901250-01-6
Former soldier wanted over base attack BBC News, 28 January 2003
Terrorists in mortar attack on barracks The Independent, 29 June 1996
^ Plates on bomb van traced to Yorkshire The Independent, 30 June 1996
^ "McAliskey extradition bid refused" BBC News, 23 November 2007
Irish leader slams IRA The Palm Beach Post, 1 July 1996
Maillot, Agnès (2005). New Sinn Féin: Irish republicanism in the twenty-first century. Routledge, p. 32. ISBN 0-415-32197-2
Scot IRA Bomber back on the streets The Daily Record, 7 March 2006

52°18′1″N 7°58′59″E / 52.30028°N 7.98306°E / 52.30028; 7.98306

Provisional Irish Republican Army

General

Organisation

Actions

1970–1979	Battle of St Matthew's Falls Curfew 1970 Crossmaglen bombing Scottish soldiers' killings Red Lion bombing Balmoral showroom bombing Abercorn bombing Donegall Street bombing Battle at Springmartin Battle of Lenadoon Bloody Friday Claudy bombing Newry customs bombing Old Bailey bombing Honey Trap killings King's Cross & Euston bombings Coleraine bombings 1973 Westminster bombing M62 bombing Clogher attack Houses of Parliament bombing Tower of London bombing Guildford pub bombings Harrow School bombing Brooks's Club bombing Woolwich pub bombing British Airways bombing attempt Birmingham pub bombings London pillar box bombings Talbot Arms bombing Bristol bombing Telephone exchange bombings 1974 Oxford Street bombing Carlton Tower & Portman Hotel shootings Mountainview attack Bayardo Bar attack Forkhill attack Caterham Arms bombing Tullyvallen massacre London Hilton bombing Piccadilly bombing Trattoria Fiore bombing Scott's Oyster Bar bombing Walton's Restaurant bombing Drummuckavall ambush Balcombe Street siege Kingsmill massacre West Ham station attack Olympia bombing Store bar shooting Stag Inn attack Garryhinch ambush Jonesborough Gazelle downing La Mon restaurant bombing Crossmaglen ambush Warrenpoint ambush Brussels bombing Dungannon attack
1980–1989	Dunmurry train bombing Lough Foyle attacks Glasdrumman ambush 1981 Bessbrook attack Chelsea Barracks bombing Hyde Park & Regent's Park bombings Harrods bombing Royal Artillery Barracks bombing Brighton hotel bombing Ballygawley land mine attack Newry mortar attack Ballygawley attack Enniskillen mortar attack RUC Birches barracks attack Rheindahlen bombing Loughgall ambush Operation Flavius Corporals killings Lisburn bombing Aughanduff Lynx shootdown 1988 Netherlands attacks Glamorgan barracks bombing Inglis Barracks bombing Ballygawley bus bombing Jonesborough ambush Clive Barracks bombing Deal barracks bombing Mayobridge attack Derryard attack
1990–1991	Derrygorry Gazelle downing South Armagh sniper Downpatrick roadside bomb Operation Conservation 1990 Wembley bombing Carlton Club bombing London Stock Exchange bombing Honourable Artillery Company bombing Lichfield gun attack RFA Fort Victoria bombing Proxy bombings Downing Street mortar attack Paddington & Victoria station bombings Mullacreevie ambush Glenanne barracks bombing Coagh ambush Musgrave Park Hospital bombing Crumlin Road Prison bombing
1992–1997	Teebane bombing Clonoe ambush London Bridge bombing Staples Cnr bombing Baltic Exchange bombing Sussex Arms bombing Cloghoge attack Coalisland riots Forensic Science Laboratory bombing Stoke Newington Road bomb 1992 Manchester bombing Night of the Long Knives 1993 Harrods bombing Warrington bombings Cullaville occupation Camden bombing Bishopsgate bombing Finchley Road bombings Battle of Newry Road Shankill Road bombing 1993 Fivemiletown ambush Heathrow attacks Crossmaglen Lynx downing Drumcree conflict Docklands bombing Aldwych bus bombing 1996 Manchester bombing Hammersmith Bridge bombing Osnabrück mortar attack Thiepval barracks bombing Coalisland attack 1997 Northern Ireland riots

Personalities
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Espionage and
Supergrasses

Eamon Collins
Denis Donaldson
Joseph Fenton
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Raymond Gilmour
Martin McGartland
Sean O'Callaghan
Freddie Scappaticci (allegedly "Stakeknife")

Associates

Derivatives

Prominent
killings

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Background

The attack

Aftermath

See also

References