A dissident republican group calling itself 'Oglaigh na hEireann' (ONH) has spoken of its attempt to lure police to their death in south Armagh.

A representative admitted responsibility for planting a 100lb bomb in a beer keg in a hedge in Jonesborough last month. The spokesman said the group's members had set fire to a car near the location, trying to lure police to drive by the bomb which then would have been detonated.

However, the police didn't attend the scene, leaving the Fire Brigade to deal with the situation alone. The ONH spokesman said members then removed the detonating mechanism from the bomb to make it safe but couldn't remove the beer keg itself.

In a bizarre twist, the beer keg filled with explosives was later found by Willie Frazer, director of the IRA victims' group FAIR (Families Acting for Innocent Relatives). Frazer called the police, resulting in a two-day security operation.

The ONH also claimed responsibility for planting a bomb under a car in Lisburn last month. A 50-year-old maths teacher, known only as Marion, said the large pipe bomb had dropped off her car as she reversed. Police said the device was "primed to kill" and Marion was lucky to be alive. They said it was a case of mistaken identity.

The group also claimed responsibility for throwing a blast bomb at police in Craigavon. ONH is linked to former Real IRA figures who left in acrimonious circumstances. In a statement from Portlaoise prison in 2002, a group of Real IRA inmates denounced their external leadership.