Police in Northern Ireland are appealing to the public for information about two blue Ford Fiestas thought to be involved in the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in Omagh on February 22.

Footage released by police shows one of the cars driving into Coalisland, about 30 miles from Omagh, on the evening of February 21.

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan said the car seen in the footage was purchased in Ballyclare on February 8 and was seen travelling from Belfast to Coalisland on the evening of February 21.

The car was fitted with a false registration number, FRZ 8414, prior to the attack, and was seen leaving the scene of the crime, Corrigan said: “Previous CCTV footage issued shows this blue Ford Fiesta leaving the sports complex and turning left onto the Killyclogher Road immediately after the shooting. We then know it travelled past Glendale Service Station to the Racolpa Road where it was abandoned and set on fire.”

Corrigan also said police believed a second blue Ford Fiesta with registration number RLZ 9805 was used on the day of the attack. The second car was seen travelling from Belfast at around 1 pm on February 22, before being found burnt out in the Ardboe industrial estate on February 23.

In light of the new information, Crimestoppers said they will offer a £150,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved.

Corrigan said eight men between 22 and 71 years old had been arrested and questioned in the case, but all had been released.

Police are treating the attack as terrorist-related and the primary line of inquiry remains that the New IRA was responsible, Corrigan added.

Caldwell remains critical but stable in hospital. Credit: Police Service of Northern Ireland via Storyful