A car exploded outside a police station in Dunmurry, on the outskirts of Belfast, and police in Northern Ireland are treating the case as an attempted murder and believe the New IRA is behind the attack.
The IRA (Irish Republican Army) is a paramilitary organization that advocated British military withdrawal from Northern Ireland and its unification with Ireland.
No one was injured in the Dunmurry incident, but authorities warn that it shows there is still “murderous intent and capability” among paramilitary groups, The Guardian reports.
Execution of the attack
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the car that exploded had been “hijacked” in a manner similar to the attack on Lurgan police station in March.
The vehicle was stolen shortly after 10.50pm on Saturday in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast. A gas cylinder device was placed in the boot and the delivery man was then ordered to drive the car to Dunmurry Police Station and leave it there.
The quick reaction of the police prevented the victims
Residents from nearby houses, including two babies, were evacuated shortly before the explosion. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the perpetrators “represent no one”, while DUP party leader Gavin Robinson said “the police and the public should never have to face this kind of danger”.
At a press conference on Sunday, Singleton praised the officers who “immediately and courageously ran into danger, putting themselves at risk, and evacuated nearby homes to protect the community.”
“Officers were leading several residents, including two babies, to safety just as the device exploded, engulfing the vehicle in flames and scattering debris in all directions,” Singleton said.
“While the device may not have been particularly sophisticated or large, it made up for it in its reckless unpredictability. It was only thanks to the quick response of the police that no one was injured, which is nothing short of a miracle.”
Similarity to the previous attack
Last month in a similar incident, which is suspected by dissident republicans, a delivery man was forced at gunpoint to transport the device to a police station in Lurgan. That device did not explode then. Singleton pointed out that there are “very strong similarities between the two incidents”.
“Therefore our initial working assumption is that this could be the work of the New IRA, who have claimed responsibility for the Lurgan attack,” he added.
Terrorist threat assessment
When asked if the terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland, which is currently “significant”, should be reassessed, Singleton said: “The device in Lurgan obviously did not explode, but I think that was probably more luck than anything else. The event of last night clearly reminds us of the murderous intent and capability that still exists and is regularly directed against our officers. That is why it is vital that we remain vigilant to protect not only ourselves but the wider community.”
He added that there was no warning before the attack and that explosives like the one used in Dunmurry are “extremely unstable”.
Strong condemnation of the attack
Northern Ireland Policing Board chairman Brendan Mullan said the bomb was “delivered with the aim of killing officers and causing maximum damage in an attack which took place in the heart of a residential area”.
“This is the second incident at the police station in recent weeks, which is very worrying. The people made their point clear when they overwhelmingly supported the Good Friday Agreement,” said Mullan.
Liam Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland, said the attack had “caused great distress and widespread and justified outrage”.
“This accomplishes absolutely nothing. The only thing it accomplishes is showing that there are still people who want to kill my colleagues and bring pain and suffering to our communities. These faceless cowards represent a return to the dark ages of the ‘Trouble’. They have no place in the society we are trying to build, a society free of violence and terrorism,” Kelly concluded.
(Vijesti.ba)
