The IRA 's South Armagh Brigade was tasked with planning and carrying out the attack . It had also been responsible for the Canary Wharf bombing in February , and the Bishopsgate bombing in 1993 . Its members mixed the explosives in Ireland and shipped them by freight from Dublin to England . In London , the bomb was assembled and loaded into the back of a red and white Ford Cargo van . On 14 June it was driven north towards Manchester , accompanied by a Ford Granada which served as a " scout car "
Bishopsgate bombing
1993 Bishopsgate bombing
1996 Manchester bombing