Car explosion outside Northern Ireland police station ‘may be work of New IRA’
PSNI officers evacuated nearby homes after a car exploded outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast
A car which exploded outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast had been “hijacked” and the New IRA is believed to be responsible, police have said.
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A security alert is under way in Dunmurry in Northern Ireland following the incident.
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the car was hijacked shortly after 10.50pm on Saturday in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast and a gas cylinder device was placed in the boot.
Mr Singleton said the male delivery driver was ordered to drive the car to Dunmurry Police Station in the Kingsway area and abandon it outside, causing police to activate the station’s attack alarm.
No-one was harmed in the explosion, which happened as local residents, including two babies, were being evacuated.
Members of the public have been advised to avoid the scene.
Speaking at a press conference at PSNI headquarters in Belfast on Sunday, Mr Singleton said: “Police officers immediately and courageously ran into danger, placing themselves in harm’s way, and evacuated nearby homes to protect the community.
“A number of residents, including two babies, were being taken to safety by officers when the device exploded, engulfing the vehicle in flames and sending debris in all directions.
“What this type of device may have lacked in terms of its sophistication and scale, it more than made up for in its reckless unpredictability.“
He went on to thank members of the police for their "swift" response, adding that the fact that nobody was injured was "nothing short of miraculous.”
Asked whether the attack was linked to a similar incident at Lurgan Police Station in March, in which a delivery vehicle was hijacked and a viable explosive placed inside, Mr Singleton noted similarities between the two.
"It is now the second attack of this nature in just a month.
“There are very many similarities between the two incidents, and as a consequence of that, our early working hypothesis is that this may well be the work of the New IRA who claimed responsibility for the attack in Lurgan.”
Writing on social media, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said those behind the attack “speak for absolutely no-one”.
She wrote: “They have no vision, no support, and have nothing to offer our society.
“Our communities deserve peace. No-one is going to deny our young people and future generations that.
“We will keep progressing and we will keep moving forward to a better future.”
Sinn Fein Assembly member for the area Danny Baker expressed concern in a post on social media.
“There have been reports of an explosion close to the Dunmurry police station,” he said.
“I would ask anyone travelling in that direction to avoid the area and if residents need support, to get in touch.
“At this stage, there is very little information, and I hope no-one is hurt.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson described the reports as “deeply concerning”.
“If this was another attempt by dissident republicans to intimidate communities and target the police, then it must be met with the full force of the law," he added.
“Our police officers and the wider public should never have to face this kind of danger. Those responsible must be identified and brought before the courts.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he is “appalled” by the incident.
“This was a shameless and cowardly attack on the brave men and women who work so hard to keep our communities safe in Northern Ireland,” he said.
In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “Police are currently at the scene of a security alert in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry this morning, Sunday April 26.
“Members of the public are asked to avoid the area. Cordons are in place and an evacuation operation is under way. “An update will follow in due course.”
Last month an explosive device that police described as “crude but viable” was at the centre of an attempted attack on another PSNI station in Northern Ireland.
A delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to transport the device to Lurgan police station in an incident blamed on dissident republicans.
The device did not explode on that occasion.