New IRA suspected over car explosion outside Belfast police station | Northern Ireland

“Killer intent and ability” still exists among paramilitary forces in Northern Ireland, police officers said after a car exploded outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast.

Detectives said they believed the New IRA was involved and were treating the incident as attempted murder.

Bobby Singleton, deputy chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said the car that exploded outside Dunmurry police station was “hijacked” in a manner similar to the attack on Lurgan police station in March.

The vehicle was hijacked in the Twinbrook area of ​​west Belfast shortly after 10.50pm on Saturday and a gas cylinder device was placed in the boot. The male delivery driver was then ordered to take the car to Dunmurry police station in the Kingsway area and leave it outside.

While residents, including two babies, were evacuated from surrounding properties, no one was harmed in the explosion.

Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill said those behind the attack were “speaking for absolutely no one”, while DUP leader Gavin Robinson said police and the public “should never have to face this kind of danger”.

At a press conference at PSNI headquarters in Belfast on Sunday, Singleton said officers “immediately and courageously rushed to danger, putting themselves in harm’s way and evacuating nearby houses to protect the community”.

He said: “Several residents, including two babies, were being escorted to safety by officers when the device exploded, engulfing the car in flames and sending debris flying in every direction.

“What this type of device lacks in sophistication and scale it more than makes up for in its reckless unpredictability. Thanks to the quick response of the police, no one was injured, which is miraculous.”

Last month a delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to take a non-explosive device to Lurgan police station in an incident blamed on dissident republicans.

Singleton said there were “a lot of similarities between the two events.” “As a result of this, our initial working hypothesis is that this may be the work of the New IRA, which claimed responsibility for the attack in Lurgan,” he said.

Asked whether the terror threat level in Northern Ireland (currently at “substantial”) should be reassessed, Singleton said: “Obviously the device at Lurgan was not working, but we can see that this was probably more by chance than anything else.

“Clearly last night reminds us of the lethal intent and capability that still exists and is regularly exercised against our officers, so it is vital that we remain vigilant to keep not only ourselves but also the wider community safe.”

Singleton said there was no warning about the attack and that explosives of the type used in Dunmurry could be “extremely volatile”.

“The scale and complexity of the device may not have been as great as we’ve seen in the past. What it lacked in that it certainly made up for in carelessness in terms of construction; it set the vehicle in flames and spread debris over a significant distance, so that in itself tells you how dangerous it was,” he said.

Northern Ireland police chief Brendan Mullan said the device was “sent to kill officers and cause maximum damage in an attack in the heart of a residential area”.

He said: “This is the second incident at a police station in recent weeks and it is demoralizing. People spoke overwhelmingly in approval of the Good Friday agreement.”

Police Federation of Northern Ireland chief executive Liam Kelly said the attack had “caused great distress and provoked a widespread and justified response”.

He said: “This does not move the needle towards any target. It shows that there are still those who want to kill my colleagues and inflict pain and suffering on our communities.”

“These faceless cowards are a throwback to the dark ages of the Troubles. They have no place in the society we are all trying to build, a society free of banditry and terrorism.”