London: A prison officer injured when a bomb exploded under the van he was driving in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast earlier this month died on Tuesday, the province's Prison Service said.
"Adrian Ismay gave over 28 years of service to prisons in Northern Ireland and he was greatly respected by all those who knew him," Justice Minister David Ford and Prison Service director-general Sue McAllister said in a statement.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster tweeted that she was "devastated".
The BBC and Sky News reported that the father-of-three had died after being rushed back to hospital.
Police had initially said his injuries were "not life-threatening"
The BBC reported that he was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack, and that police were awaiting medical evidence before deciding whether to treat the death as murder.
A dissident republican group calling itself the New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack, saying he was targeted for training prison officers at Maghaberry prison near Belfast, which houses republican prisoners.
The province's police force has since warned that militants were planning to mark the 100th anniversary of Ireland's Easter Rising against British rule with attacks on police and army targets in Northern Ireland.
Stephen Martin, a senior officer in Northern Ireland's police force said he was "very worried" about the threat ahead of the commemoration on March 27 of the revolt that paved the way for Ireland's independence.
Some 3,500 people were killed during a mostly sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted more than three decades.
Much of the violence was brought to an end by the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that created a power-sharing coalition in the province.
AFP
