London Police Defuse Ira Bomb

Responding to telephone warnings made using Irish Republican Army code words, the police Thursday destroyed a bomb that had been left in a telephone booth in the heart of London’s crowded West End.

The incident came less than a week after the IRA declared an end to its 17-month cease-fire and set off a 500-pound bomb in east London, killing two people and causing an estimated $230 million in damage. Experts said Thursday’s bomb scare was a clear sign that last week’s explosion was not an isolated incident, and that the IRA was prepared to return to its policy of sustained terrorist attacks in London.