THE Defence Forces are moving a bomb disposal team back to the Border full time after last week's attempted bomb attack on the Monaghan Sinn Fein office by loyalists.
The decision was made after examination of the bomb, which failed to explode after it was innocently disturbed by two local people, showed it was a professionally made and highly powerful device.
The bomb contained 25 sticks of the commercial mining explosive Powergel, which was enough, experts say, to have demolished the Sinn Fein offices in Dublin Street and would have caused extensive damage to several adjoining buildings.
It has also shown that the loyal fists have access to commercial detonators, missing from their harmoury for almost two decades.
The appearance of the commercial detonators and the explosive, as well as the improved loyalist bomb making skills, has prompted the decision to return an Army EOD, explosives ordnance disposal, to the Border full time. The last Border EOD was removed early in 1995 in response to the republican and loyalist ceasefires.
It is understood the new team will be based in Monaghan because of its central location for Border bomb disposal work. The EOD team removed from the Border during the ceasefire was previously based in Dundalk.
It has also emerged that the Monaghan bomb was planted on the evening of March 2nd. It is suspected that a man and woman may have planted the device which was in a bright pink holdall.
According to local sources, the bag was spotted by a Sinn Fein member leaving a local public house on Sunday night. The man apparently mistook the bag for rubbish dumped in the doorway of the offices and removed it to waste ground at the back of the building.
On Monday morning another local man apparently saw the bag and disturbed it, after also apparently mistaking it for rubbish.
At about 9.30 am. on Monday, there was a small explosion, thought to have been caused by the detonator alter it had been detached from the explosive. The area was cleared for several hours while gardai waited for an Army bomb disposal team to arrived from Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin.
No claim was made for the attack, however, it is believed to have been the work of loyalists in response to the killing of Lance Bombarder Stephen Restorick, the British soldier shot dead a month ago in south Armagh by the IRA.
While no group admitted the Monaghan attack, security sources have confirmed that the UVF is the most likely culprit.
The UVF and the UDA are officially adhering to a ceasefire. However, it is understood that both are on a war footing and prepared to attack republican targets in response to further IRA violence in Northern Ireland.
The attack also comes after it emerged that IRA members were carrying out surveillance on loyalist figures in Belfast.
The loyalists believe they were being targeted for assassination and increased security arrangements were provided for members of the fringe loyalist parties associated with the loyalist paramilitary organisations. This is thought to have contributed to the loyalist decision to mount attacks on republicans.