LONDON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The Real IRA, in a statement sent to The Guardian, admitted bombing two banks in Northern Ireland and promised more attacks on economic targets.
The dissident Republican group also claimed responsibility for attacks on the City of Culture office in Londonderry, the newspaper reported Tuesday. The statement described the City of Culture designation as a symbol of British rule in the city.
The group said targeting banks sends "the message that while the Irish national and class struggles are distinct, they are not separate." Ireland was one of the European countries hit hardest by a real estate collapse after a boom of several years.
"At a grassroots level, working-class communities are suffering most from the effects of cuts to essential services and poverty is now endemic," the statement said. "Families who have lost income as a result of the financial crisis -- caused by the bankers -- are being intimidated and some are being evicted from their homes."
The Real IRA is believed to be responsible for attacks on soldiers and police officers in recent years in Northern Ireland. A young Catholic officer in the Police Service of Northern Ireland was killed this year by a bomb left under his car.
