The New IRA has denied reports that it collaborated with loyalists in an attempt to kill senior police officer John Caldwell last month.
The 48-year-old remains in a critical but stable condition after being shot at the Youth Sport Omagh complex on the Killyclogher Road.
A claim of responsibility by the New IRA, which calls itself the 'IRA', was later posted on a wall in Derry.
Credible 'IRA' sources has rejected claims that the organisation had teamed up with a Tyrone based crime gang with loyalist connections to carry out the attack on Mr Caldwell.
Around 10 rounds were fired at the detective chief inspector by two gunmen after a youth soccer training session on February 22.
It has been reported that he was struck four times.
To date eight men have been arrested and subsequently released.
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Three of the eight were detained in the Coalisland area while another man was arrested in the nearby Stewartstown area.
A further four men were arrested in the Omagh area while a 57-year-old was detained in north Belfast last week.
Of those arrested, three are from a Protestant background.
The Irish News revealed last week that one of the eight arrested was convicted for brandishing a gun at a Catholic man in Co Tyrone more than 40 years ago and later received an eight years sentence.
At the time his defence said he had taken a considerable amount of drink and there was nothing to suggest he had deliberately set out to shoot the other man, whose identity is known to the Irish News, or that he was a member of a paramilitary organisation.
New IRA sources claimed that in addition to the gun team that opened fire on Mr Caldwell, two other back up teams, which were also armed, were in the area when the gun attack took place.
It is understood a revolver and 9mm handgun were used to try and kill Mr Caldwell.
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A well-placed source claimed the entire operation was carried out by republicans and involved no outside input.
"This was an IRA operation, carried out by IRA volunteers, using IRA weapons," the source said.
"The IRA refutes anything to do with loyalism."
The source added that "all volunteers returned to base" after the attempt to kill Mr Caldwell.
The IRA source said the organisation has little concern for how many people from the Protestant community are arrested in relation to the PSNI probe, adding that "it shows the ineptitude of their (PSNI) investigation".
SDLP Policing Board member Mark H Durkan said: "It's still a live investigation, it's important the police are allowed to get on with that investigation into the attempted murder of one of their colleagues - a father in front of his own child and many others.
"So I think it's important that they are allowed to do that without so much speculation in the public domain on it."
Mr Durkan condemned the attack.
"People are understandably interested but regardless of who pulled the trigger and who was supposed to be involved in the organisation of the attack, it doesn't make it any less despicable or deplorable," he said.
