Viable bomb found under police officer's car in Northern Ireland after weeks of unrest
A viable explosive device has been planted under the car of a serving police officer near a property in the north of Northern Ireland following weeks of unrest during which dozens of police were injured.
The bomb was found under the officer's vehicle on Monday near her family's farm in Dungiven, County Derry, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
The woman, an officer in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), is not reported to have been harmed in the incident.
“I can confirm that the device is viable and investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances,” the head of the PSNI's crime operations department, Mark McEwan, said in a statement.
“We are treating this as an attack on a member of staff who also serves her community as a part time police officer.”
A security alert at Ballyquin Road remains in place on Tuesday after police closed the surrounding streets on Monday and asked motorists to avoid the area.
First Minister Arlene Foster condemned the “terrorists” who planted the bomb and said she had spoken to the police officer.
“There will be political disagreements, but Northern Ireland must keep moving forward. We will not be dragged back to bombs & bullets,” she said in a statement.
The incident follows the recent unrest in Belfast and other areas of Northern Ireland, which has been fueled by the impact of the UK's Brexit deal with the EU.
During the violence some 88 police officers have been injured, according to the PSNI.
The woman, an officer in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), is not reported to have been harmed in the incident.
“I can confirm that the device is viable and investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances,” the head of the PSNI's crime operations department, Mark McEwan, said in a statement.
“We are treating this as an attack on a member of staff who also serves her community as a part time police officer.”
A security alert at Ballyquin Road remains in place on Tuesday after police closed the surrounding streets on Monday and asked motorists to avoid the area.
First Minister Arlene Foster condemned the “terrorists” who planted the bomb and said she had spoken to the police officer.
“There will be political disagreements, but Northern Ireland must keep moving forward. We will not be dragged back to bombs & bullets,” she said in a statement.
The incident follows the recent unrest in Belfast and other areas of Northern Ireland, which has been fueled by the impact of the UK's Brexit deal with the EU.
During the violence some 88 police officers have been injured, according to the PSNI.