1996 IRA Manchester bombing arrest: Man taken into custody at Birmingham Airport

A man has been arrested at the Birmingham Airport over suspected involvement with the 1996 Manchester bombing which was believed to have been carried out by the IRA, police said Friday.

The individual, whose identity has not been released, was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of terror offenses and remains in custody where he will be interviewed by the Counter-Terrorism Policing for the North West (CTPNW), according to the Manchester Police Department. 

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On June 15, 1996, a bomb devastated much of the Birmingham city center and injured some 250 people.

Though no one was killed in the colossal explosion, the bombing was one of the largest to hit England since World War II, and authorities have yet to charge anyone in coordination with the attack, reported the BBC. 

“We have always been committed to holding those responsible for the attack to account and bringing them to justice and have been reinvestigating for several years,” Detective Superintendent Andrew Meeks, Head of Investigations for the CTPNW said in a Friday statement. 

Meeks said a team of detectives had re-examined the original case file and have since pursed “new lines of inquiry.” 

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The lead detective said the department had already been in contact with those injured during the attack to ensure they are receiving the support they need. 

“Given the passage of time, and the number of people who were affected or injured by this atrocity, we sadly don’t have the contact details for everyone,” he added, encouraging people to reach out for support if they were not directly contacted.

“We remain determined to hold those responsible for this attack to account regardless of the time passed and would still encourage anyone who has any information that could assist our enquiries to get in touch via the Major Incident Portal,” he added. 

Though conflict between Irish rebels in Northern Ireland and the British government ended in the late 90s, the U.K. has repeatedly reopened cold cases in the years following. 

The Provisional Irish Republican Party (IRA) which engaged in guerilla warfare tactics with the British army between 1969-1998 was deemed a terrorist group by the U.K.

Following a 1997 cease fire, breakaway groups like the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA continued armed campaigns and have been designated terrorist organizations by the U.S.