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.
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.
He told a press conference at PSNI headquarters in Belfast on Sunday: “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.
“Thanks to the swift actions of police, no-one has been injured, which is 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 said: “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.”
