Suspected New IRA Bomb Thwarted by Northern Ireland Officers

(MENAFN) A suspected car bomb attack outside a police station in Dunmurry was narrowly prevented from causing casualties Saturday night after Police Service of Northern Ireland officers evacuated residents seconds before a blast tore through the area, authorities announced Sunday.

According to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, a hijacked vehicle loaded with a gas cylinder device exploded late Saturday outside the station located southwest of Belfast. Officers had already begun clearing neighboring homes — including families with two infants — when the explosion struck.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton pointed the finger at dissident republican group the New IRA, describing it as the "early working hypothesis" behind the attack. He paid tribute to the responding officers, saying they "immediately and courageously ran into danger," crediting their swift actions with almost certainly preventing loss of life.

No injuries were recorded, though the detonation inflicted significant structural damage to the surrounding area. Authorities are treating the incident as attempted murder, with counterterrorism detectives now leading the investigation.

The Dunmurry attack is the second such incident in recent weeks, following a comparable attempted bombing last month in Lurgan that was similarly attributed to dissident republican elements — pointing to a troubling pattern of resurgent paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland that security forces warn shows no signs of abating.

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