Four arrested after Northern Ireland car bomb

Four arrested after Northern Ireland car bomb

Four men were arrested over a car bomb attack in Northern Ireland's Londonderry and police are looking into whether the New IRA militant group was responsible.

Two men in their twenties were detained hours after the explosion on Saturday evening outside the city's courthouse. Two other men aged 34 and 42 were arrested in the city later on Sunday. No one was injured by the blast.

"Fortunately it didn't kill anybody but clearly it was a very significant attempt to kill people here in this community," Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton told a news conference.

Hamilton said the main focus of the investigation was on the New IRA - one of a small number of groups opposed to a 1998 peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence in the British-run province. They have carried out sporadic attacks in recent years.

Police in Northern Ireland and European Union member Ireland have warned that a return to a hard border between the two after Brexit, complete with customs and other checks, could be a target for militant groups.

Politicians from all sides - including Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the nationalist Irish Republican Army - condemned the explosion.

Published: by Radio NewsHub
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