Innocent woman's car petrol-bombed in feud-linked attack

Exclusive photos obtained by the Herald show the damage that was caused to the back of a car, which was melted in the city's latest bomb attack.

The car was petrol-bombed in the Lough Conn Avenue estate in Ballyfermot shortly before 11pm on Tuesday.

The owner of the car is an innocent 48-year-old woman, who was visiting the home of a 42-year-old female pal when the shocking incident happened.

The car had only been left a short time when thugs targeted it with a petrol bomb.

Bitter

No arrests have yet been made in the case, which is being investigated by Ballyfermot Garda Station, but sources said last night that it is linked to a bitter local feud.

Gardai have received information that a man was seen throwing a device into the car, but they did not have a description of him. He was seen fleeing on Lough Conn Road and gardai were last night examining CCTV footage of the area.

The target was also lucky to escape with her life in April, when a gunman linked to a well-known Ballyfermot crime gang opened fire on her in a brazen daylight gun attack as she stood in her garden. The woman has no involvement in crime, but her relatives - including her elderly mother, who was viciously stabbed in a shocking attack - have also been targeted in the recent past.

She and the friend she was visiting were previously targeted by a local thug, who told them he would "blow your heads off" and had threatened to burn the older woman's house down.

That incident happened in May 2015 and the volatile thug who made the threats is now serving six years for that and other crimes, including firearms offences.

Gardai are becoming increasingly concerned about the use of petrol bombs by criminals in the capital. In an unrelated incident, two petrol bombs were thrown at a house in south Dublin. Gardai are investigating but no arrests have been made.

Stench

That attack happened at the Gleanntan estate in Loughlinstown at 1.20am on Tuesday.

Two petrol bombs were thrown at the front door of the house, causing a major explosion.

An innocent mother later admitted she was lucky to escape.

The homeowner insisted that the attack was totally out of the blue.

The woman's two pet dogs are also said to have been frightened following the attack, with the stench of smoke filtering throughout the house.

"The smell of the house, I've been cleaning it for the last seven hours," she said.

Meanwhile, gardai in Coolock are investigating if a northside Traveller gang are responsible for a pipe bomb attack on Clonshaugh Drive at about 7pm on Monday.

The attack resulted in the front window of a house shattering when the crude device exploded on impact.

Gardai sealed off the scene and called the army bomb disposal unit. Several houses on the street were evacuated until the scene was declared safe.