Irish border bomb would have caused 'major loss of life'

A bomb found in a van near the Irish border contained 600lbs of homemade explosive and was "ready to go", police have revealed.

The device was larger than had originally been estimated and could have caused devastation. Security operations on the vehicle have only just ended, after it was spotted by a member of the public on Thursday evening.

District Commander Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson said on Saturday it could have caused major loss of life had it detonated.

He said of the van bomb: "To put it in perspective - anyone within 50 metres of this device would have been killed and anyone within 100 metres, seriously injured."

The white Citroen Berlingo van was spotted after being left abandoned on a border road outside Newry in Northern Ireland.

"The device contained two blue barrels with 125kg of homemade explosives in each one, and a detonator - all the equipment which meant this device was ready to go," he said.

"To explain it, there was 600lbs of explosives.

"If this had exploded it would have caused devastation."

Dissident republicans opposed to the peace process are being blamed for the failed attack.

The same groups have been linked to the discovery of a smaller explosive device, plus a weapons cache, in north Belfast on Friday night.

Newry's courthouse was damaged by a major car bomb in 2010, but Mr Robinson said the latest find was twice as big as the bomb used in that attack.

Mr Robinson said it was unclear who was the likely target, and what the reasoning was behind the the device being abandoned.

But the senior officers said the presence of regular police patrols had forced bombers to abandon devices in the past.

Ulster Unionist Danny Kennedy, who represents the area and who is also a minister in the Stormont government, said he believed the bomb was part of a plot to kill police.

"Clearly this was an attempt to lure a police patrol into that area, with potentially lethal consequences," he said.

Mr Kennedy said the dissidents were "dangerous and dedicated terrorists, who are determined to cause serious harm, injury and death to members of the security forces regardless of the consequences to local communities".

The Stormont regional development minister said he was very concerned at the increasing number of attacks planned and executed by republican dissidents around the border town of Newry.

However when asked about the scale of the threat posed by dissident republican groups, the chief superintendent said:

"Officers are out in the community day and night, doing their utmost to ensure that the community is safe and we will continue to do this."

"We do everything in our power to protect human life."

"I would like to thank the public for their support and ask for their continued help. I would appeal to anyone who noticed this Citroen Berlingo van in the area on Thursday or even prior to this to contact us."

The van and bomb have now been taken away for further forensic examination.

Police said overnight that they had discovered two bombs following separate security alerts in Northern Ireland.

In addition to the discovery of the substantial device at the border, detectives found a smaller bomb under a car in the Ballygomartin area of north Belfast, which was also blamed on dissidents.

And in a third overnight security force operation, also in north Belfast, detectives investigating dissident republican activity found a number of guns and ammunition.

The border bomb was found in a white van on Thursday evening. Initial reports said the vehicle's engine was still running, after it had apparently been abandoned.

The subsequent security operation lasted into Friday evening, and the scale of the device has only now emerged.

In Belfast, Chief Inspector Ian Campbell said houses had to be evacuated while the device found in the Ballygomartin area was made safe last night.

He said: "Those responsible for this have shown callous disregard for members of the public.

"The operation resulted in the evacuation of up to 80 people, including families with young children and elderly residents, for several hours."

He added: "The finger of suspicion points towards dissident republican terrorists and I appeal to anyone with information to come forward to police."

After separate police searches elsewhere in north Belfast last night uncovered an unspecified amount of guns and ammunition, the officer responsible for the area, Chief Superintendent George Clarke, said the operation had succeeded in combating activity by dissident groups.

"The actions of police have undoubtedly thwarted the attempts of criminals to inflict death, injury and misery on the community of north Belfast," he said.

"Police are determined to protect communities from these threats."

Mr Clarke appealed for the public's continuing assistance in combating dissident activities.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Alliance Party condemned the bomb incidents.

Alliance North Belfast representative Billy Webb said: "I am sickened by the people who are out to murder and injure by leaving bombs on our streets. These people are offering nothing to our society.

"I call upon these dissident terrorists to stop their reckless actions. The public does not want this violence on our streets.
"If anybody has any information about these devices then I would urge them to contact the police."