Omagh bombing horrors revealed in hearings ‘will educate on effect of terrorism’

Police officers and firefighters inspecting the damage caused by a bomb explosion in Market Street, Omagh, in 1998 (PA)

A focus on the victims and impact of the Omagh bombing will have “important value” in educating others about the “real effect of terrorism”, a public inquiry chairman has said.

Bereaved families and survivors have gathered at the Strule Arts Centre in the Co Tyrone town for the inquiry which will examine whether the atrocity could reasonably have been prevented by UK authorities.