Car bomb explosion at police station treated as attempted murder

The article notes broad public endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement and that such violence has no place in a peace-seeking society.

Policing Board Chair Brendan Mullan condemned the attack, calling it a planned attempt to kill officers in a residential area. Local MPs and party leaders urged unity and the pursuit of peace.

The article explains that 'dissident republicans' describe groups not accepting the Good Friday Agreement; the New IRA is one of them and had claimed responsibility for the Lurgan attack last month.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack and urged anyone with information to come forward. Other leaders, including First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, condemned the attack and stressed the importance of peace.

Residents were evacuated from their homes into the police station, and then to the Brook Leisure centre in Dunmurry for the night, as the area was described as residential with elderly residents.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said no one was injured or killed due to swift action. He noted similarities with a previous incident in Lurgan and said the early working hypothesis is that the New IRA may be responsible; investigators will keep an open mind.

The device exploded when the car was parked outside Dunmurry police station in a very residential area. Several residents, including two babies, were being taken to safety by officers at the time.

A delivery driver's car was hijacked in Twinbrook, west Belfast. The vehicle was fitted with a gas cylinder device and the driver was forced to drive it to Dunmurry police station.