A BRITISH Army barracks in Germany was rocked by an explosion last night in a mortar attack that had all the hallmarks of the IRA.

The mortars were fired from a Ford Transit van with British number plates. There were no reports of injuries.

The attack took place at 6.50pm at Quebec Barracks in Osnabruck, where 4 Armoured Brigade is based.

Immediate fears were that it signalled a new IRA campaign against British targets on mainland Europe.

At a news conference in London yesterday, Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin had warned that the IRA could strike again. Refusing to be drawn into any condemnation of the Manchester bombing, he said further attacks could not be ruled out. ``The IRA cessation is over. They could strike at any time and any place,'' he said.

The barracks was the target of three detonations, German police said, adding that the mortars were aimed at the petrol station of the base but missed.

They were fired from the Ford Transit parked only 200 yards away. They exploded in the air and broke windows and damaged buildings.

German police said that although three explosions were heard, one of the mortars was found in the vehicle.

A spokesman said: ``We are not sure about the nature of the mortars yet. The two which went off might have exploded more than once. We have forensic experts investigating the vehicle.''

A statement by the 4 Armoured Brigade said the attack was ``presumably by a terrorist group''. Officials declined to elaborate.

An official of the Lower Saxony state said: ``Our initial supposition is that the perpetrators are from the Provisional IRA.''

Investigators were searching for other explosive devices in the area, which was sealed off. Lieutenant Colonel Jan-Dirk Merveldt said: ``One appears to have fallen near a petrol pump . . . and one just on the perimeter.''

He said only 150 soldiers based at the barracks were present at the time of the attack as it was ``after duties''.

Tory former Northern Ireland Minister Peter Bottomley condemned the attack, warning that the IRA was asking for retaliation from its opponents.

Mr Bottomley said: ``Unless it is contradicted, the presumption must be that this was the IRA.

``It must be remembered always that the IRA do these things to calculate the public reaction, and they anticipate the publicity. This is their version of a press notice.''

He said pressure must be put on the IRA from Dublin, Northern Ireland and the US ``to explain why they are setting the Irish troubles back into the dark age of crosses in cemeteries rather than crosses on the ballot paper''.

He said that while the IRA had detonated, or tried to explode several bombs since the Docklands attack in February which ended their ceasefire, no other group had done so - yet: ``They are asking for retaliation. They are asking for the political process to be frustrated.

``They are creating more difficulties than they know how to solve.''

Reports that the IRA are working on the development of new mortar bombs were given extra significance by the attack. Just three days ago Irish Prime Minister John Bruton said that a new type of IRA bomb, believed to be mortars, had been discovered in a raid at a terrorist bomb-making factory in the Republic.

Quebec Barracks was targeted in June 1989 when terrorists attempted to murder 20 soldiers by planting a 150kg Semtex device next to a dormitory block.

In another incident at the

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barracks in 1989, a shot had been fired at a soldier, said the colonel.

The Prime Minister, who is attending the G7 summit in Lyon, was immediately informed of the attack as he dined with the other leaders.

A spokesman for Mr John Major said: ``Clearly this is a matter for great concern but we are still awaiting details of the nature of the incident.''

He added: ``The most important thing is that no one was hurt.''

Colonel Merveldt told Channel 4 News that a vehicle outside the barracks ``appears to have let off two mortars into the camp''.

When asked if he thought it was the IRA, he said: ``I do not wish to speculate at this very moment.''

People living near the base told of their shock when the mortars exploded.

``I was just sitting eating my dinner when there was a very loud bang and I just saw explosions going off,'' one man said. ``My balcony is covered with debris. My garage is badly damaged.''

A woman said she was washing her car when there was a huge blast. ``Three explosions went off. I ran away from my car and lay on the floor. I thought it was the the end of the world or a plane had crashed.''

Another neighbour said: ``What a terrible blast. I thought it was because of the football game, Germany against England on Wednesday. What the hell happened?''

Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring condemned the attack.

Sources said the Irish Government would be examining the situation carefully in the wake of the attack and would wait for clarification of who was responsible before making any further comment.

Osnabruck is the largest British military garrison in Germany.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman in London said that a total of 10,700 people, including servicemen's families, were based in barracks around the town. That number included 4900 soldiers.

It was not known how many people were based at Quebec Barracks itself.

The IRA has frequently used truck-mounted, home-made mortars to fire shells into Army and RUC buildings in Northern Ireland. The same method of attack was used in the infamous Downing Street attack.

The IRA was blamed for a spate of attacks on British servicemen in Europe in the late 1980s.

The European campaign ended after a botched attack killed two civilians by mistake.