Pipebomb attack target was former Garda informant

DISSIDENT republicans are suspected of being behind a booby-trap bomb which almost killed an ex-Garda informant who infiltrated the Real IRA.

Paddy Dixon, 48, had opened the front door of a house he shared with his son in Navan, Co Meath, when the improvised device exploded.

A crude detonator connected to the door set off the pipebomb at the Beechgrove housing estate where he had been living openly for several years.