Court Told Of Smirking Omagh Bomber

A smirking bomber who devastated hundreds of lives and killed 29 people and unborn babies in the Omagh bomb outrage was described in court yesterday.

A witness, Ruth Buchannon told the High Court she was parked on Market Street in the town when the bomb vehicle pulled up in front of her, half a car length away.

She said the two men in the Cavalier got out quickly, making her think they were in a hurry.

She caught his eye and said he looked calm and relaxed and even said she thought the two men who got out of the car looked like soldiers.

Five men are being sued by relatives of some of the families of the 29 people killed in the 1998 atrocity.

She said: "As the men stood on the footpath the passenger caught eye contact with myself and grinned at me.

"They were both neat, with the one on the passenger side the more handsome."

Her statement, read by Brett Lockhart QC, for the families, said: "They were approximately six to eight feet away from me as they stood in front of my car."

The driver, however, appeared to have a serious expression, the court heard.

Ms Buchannon said she left Omagh before the bomb exploded.

Earlier, Northern Ireland's top forensic scientist Denis McAuley told the hearing the piece furthest from the scene of the Real IRA attack was found 300 metres away.

(BMcC)