Police in Northern Ireland declared a security alert on Sunday after a car bomb exploded near a police station in Dunmurry, on the outskirts of Belfast. Homes in the vicinity have been evacuated and public advised to avoid the area, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
“It is distressing and disturbing to wake up to the news that a car bomb exploded outside Dunmurry police station last night,” said Sorcha Eastwood, a member of the U.K. Parliament representing Langan Valley, southwest of Belfast. “A busy area, a car bomb left outside residential housing, small businesses and any number of people out and about on a Saturday night working or socialising. It is only through the grace of God that there are no casualties.”
Police have not released information about the motive for the attack.
Last month, police said a “crude but viable” improvised bomb was used in an attempted attack on another PSNI station in Lurgan, about 20 miles southwest of Dunmurry. Two masked men stopped a delivery driver, placed the device in his car and forced him to take it to the police station. Police carried out a controlled explosion after about 100 homes were evacuated.
Police said it was likely that the Lurgan attack was carried out by dissident Republican groups in a “pathetic attempt to remain relevant and provoke fear.” The 1998 Good Friday Accords largely ended decades of violence between Republican groups opposed to British rule and those who want to maintain ties with the United Kingdom. Dissident groups still carry out sporadic attacks.