Northern Ireland Leaders Condemn Suspected New IRA Bomb Attack Near Belfast

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill called for «strong condemnation» of a suspected dissident republican bomb attack near Belfast, believed to be the work of the New IRA. The incident occurred Saturday after a delivery driver was hijacked in west Belfast and forced to drive his car, containing a device, to Dunmurry police station in Co Antrim. The car exploded outside as the building was being evacuated, with two babies among those being brought to safety.

PSNI is treating the incident as attempted murder, weeks after a similar attempted car bomb attack on Lurgan police station in Co Armagh. Speaking Monday, O’Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, and PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher presented a united front, condemning the attack and urging anyone with information to contact PSNI. Little-Pengelly emphasized that «terrorism is always wrong,» while Boutcher appealed for public assistance to apprehend those responsible «before these people actually harm or kill somebody.»