Scarecrow used as bomb decoy

Terrorists tried to blow up soldiers near the Irish border at Belleek in Co Armagh by propping a scarecrow behind the wheel of a tractor carrying 1,000lb of homemade explosives.

The tractor was put in low gear and sent off downhill towards a military checkpoint using remote control on Wednesday. However, it suddenly veered into a ditch before turning over into a field. The terrorists, who had been waiting to detonate the bomb, escaped.