LONDON

Victims of the 1998 bombing in the town of Omagh, Northern Ireland, were remembered on Tuesday.

A moment of silence for families and victims was held in the County Tyrone town, as part of a private memorial service, marking the 25th of the attack that was claimed by the Real IRA – a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army.


On Aug. 15, 1998, 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed by a bomb planted by the dissident group.

A group of more than 100 people attended a ceremony commemorating the victims, with some bereaved families laying flowers.


The Omagh bombing is the deadliest single attack of the Troubles-era violence in which more than 3,500 people lost their lives.

The bombing came shortly after a peace deal – dubbed the Good Friday agreement – marked the end of Troubles-era on April 10, 1998.


"As we remember those killed and injured that awful day, we stand together in working to fulfil the promise of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.


In a statement, Irish President Michael Higgins said: “May I pay special tribute to all those who, despite the pain of those losses and injuries, by their extraordinary patience, courage and coming together have shaped a path towards peace and reconciliation. They have shown such courage and fortitude over the past 25 years.”

In February this year, the UK government announced that an independent statutory inquiry will be launched into the preventability of the deadly bombing.