UK to probe whether 1998 Omagh bomb could have been stopped

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government says it will hold a public inquiry into whether the deadliest bombing in Northern Ireland’s decades of violence could have been prevented. The probe will look at the 1998 car bombing in the town of Omagh that killed 29 people and wounded hundreds more. An Irish Republican Army dissident group, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility. A court ordered the government to investigate in response to a legal challenge by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the attack. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the inquiry would focus on “plausible arguments” suggesting the bombing could have been prevented, including whether security services had advance intelligence of the attack.