Gardaí believe members of a west Dublin drugs gang were responsible for a "viable" pipe-bomb found under a vehicle at a house in Co Clare yesterday.
Informed sources say the bomb was constructed professionally and would have gone off but for a fault in the timing mechanism. The pipe-bomb device was very similar to one found on the M50 in Dublin in December 2005.
Detectives believe the target of the attack was a Dublin man living in the house at Power's Cross in the townland of Doonmore, near Doonbeg, where the device was found under the car.
The man, who is from Tallaght, Dublin, had relocated to the area six months ago with his partner and three young children under a rural resettlement scheme in an apparent attempt to get away from criminals in Tallaght. Gardaí confirmed last night that a man from the Tallaght area was arrested in Dublin for questioning in connection with the incident.
The bomb was discovered yesterday morning after the intended victim got a telephone call to tip him off that it had been left under his car. He went outside to check the vehicle and on seeing the device and wiring under the car he rang gardaí.
The Army's bomb disposal team was then called in. Members arrived on the scene at around 1pm yesterday. They examined and dismantled the device before declaring the area safe at around 2.30pm.
The targeted family and the occupants of the two other houses nearby who were evacuated returned to their homes shortly afterwards.
The bomb was expected to be transported to Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, last night where ballistics and forensics experts will carry out further tests. The examination yesterday revealed it contained around 150 grams of explosives along with a power source, to ignite it, and a timer mechanism.
A spokesman for the Defence Forces confirmed it was a "viable" device.
Yesterday's find is the latest in a series of incidents over the last 18 months in which car bombs have been used by factions involved in organised crime. The bomb found on the M50 in December 2005 was to be used by the Continuity IRA to extort money from a drug dealer. Two other devices which were also drug-related were found in Dublin around the same time. They are believed to have been built by a former paramilitary bomb-maker living in the Louth area.