SINN FEIN has said the disclosure that the stolen vehicle used to bomb the Killyhelvin Hotel in Co Fermanagh last Saturday was located by the RUC before the attack adds further suspicion as to who was responsible.
The party chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, said he was astounded that the RUC had not followed normal procedure and cordoned off the area when they discovered the four wheel drive vehicle. Instead, the RUC allowed it to disappear.
Sinn Fein has suggested that elements of British intelligence were involved in the attack. The vehicle was located in the Newtownbutler area of Co Fermanagh by police after they were alerted by the Garda that it had broken through a checkpoint in Co Cavan.
An identification check was then carried out and the RUC discovered that it was stolen. However, a police spokesman said that it was not recovered "due to the dangers represented by its location, its proximity to the Border, and the possibility of terrorist attack".
The RUC left the scene and when police officers returned the vehicle was gone. The bombers who used the vehicle packed it with 1,200 lb of home made explosives. The explosion caused extensive damage to the hotel, injuring 17 people.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but a group which pledges allegiance to Republican Sinn Fein and calls itself the IRA, though it does not recognise the Provisional leadership, is believed to have been responsible.
However, Mr McLaughlin said he remained very suspicious about the identity of the attackers. "The RUC now acknowledges that they located the vehicle in advance of the bombing incident. Yet they did not follow their normal process adopted in these situations.
"The vehicle, which they knew to be stolen, was left unattended and unobserved. The area was not cordoned off, there was no public announcement advising the public to stay clear of the area. In effect, this stolen vehicle was located by the RUC and then allowed to disappear.
"The RUC then concealed this information for four days and only admitted this to be true as a result of media inquiries. The RUC statement provides more questions than answers in relation to this incident and the associated bombing, particularly given that no claim of responsibility for the incident has been made."
The Ulster Unionist security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, expressed concern that the RUC had lost track of the vehicle. However, he said that the police actions were understandable given the risk of counter attack.
Meanwhile, the owner of hotel, Mr Rodney Watson, has said that it will reopen on August 1st.