Belfast bomb explosion: Device left in city centre 'could have killed'

Cops said the device was left on a footpath beside a busy restaurant - a different location to that named in a telephone warning

Worrying: Police said a bomb explosion in Belfast last night could have killed

A bomb that exploded in Belfast city centre could have killed, police said last night.


Officers were in the process of evacuating around a thousand people from bars, eateries, homes, a theatre and a hotel in the bustling Cathedral Quarter district when the device detonated just before 7pm last night.

Dissident republicans opposed to the peace process have been widely blamed for the attack.



"This was an attack on the people of Belfast going about their normal lives on a busy night for socialising in the city," he said.

"This attack ruined the night out for these people. Those who carried out this attack have nothing to offer except disruption and destruction.

"Police would appeal for continued community support and vigilance on the run up to Christmas in seeking to disrupt or deter any further attack on the city."

Stormont's Justice Minister David Ford said the attack was an attempt to kill innocents while Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers branded it "deplorable".

Police described the explosion as "small" but said they were not yet in a position to determine what sort of bomb it was.

Security has been ramped up in the city since a man was forced by masked dissidents to drive a car bomb to a shopping centre that faces a police station last month. That 60kg (132lb) device only partially exploded and no-one was injured.

"Yet again we see a reckless attempt to kill and injure innocent people in Belfast," Mr Ford said.

"The people carrying out these attacks have set out no reason and explained no cause for their acts of senseless violence. Their only aim seems to be to injure and disrupt. They ignore the strength of public support for normality and peace, especially at this Christmas season."

Ms Villiers said: "This was a reckless attack aimed at a busy entertainment area of the city.

"On one of busiest nights of the year with people enjoying the festivities ahead of Christmas, as well as all those in the final stages of Christmas shopping, it shows that these terrorists are stooping to a new low.

"This small minority want to drain the economic life from Belfast - but we will not let them succeed."

Police have urged the public, particularly business owners, to be on the look out for suspicious objects.

In November dissidents were also blamed when a bus driver in Londonderry was forced to drive a bomb to a police station in the city. She abandoned the vehicle before reaching the destination and the device did not explode.

While the threat posed by the violent extremists has remained classed as severe, police have acknowledged a "surge" in activity has taken place in recent weeks.

The area targeted is named after the landmark St Anne's Church of Ireland cathedral.


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