Man, 66, charged with tried homicide after automobile bomb explosion exterior Belfast police station in assault linked by police to the New IR
A 66-year-old man has been charged with several offences following a car bomb attack outside a police station in Belfast.
The suspect was arrested in the Dunmurry area under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday.
He has been charged with several offences, including attempted murder, possessing explosives with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, possession of articles for use in terrorism and hijacking.
It comes after a delivery driver was hijacked in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast on last Saturday.
A device was placed inside the vehicle, and he was ordered to drive to Dunmurry police station.
The car exploded outside the station as people were being evacuated. There were no reported injuries.
The attack took place in a built-up area close to family homes.
Residents, including two babies, had to be taken to safety by police when the bomb went off.
Pictured: The remains of an exploded vehicle are removed from the scene outside the police station in Dunmurry
Forensic investigators at the scene in Dunmurry in Northern Ireland after a car explosion outside a police station
A 66-year-old man has been charged with several offences following the explosion last Saturday
The suspect is expected to appear before Lisburn Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
All charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Police said they believe the attack may have been carried out by a dissident republican group known as the New IRA.
The attack came just weeks after a similar incident at Lurgan police station. A controlled explosion was carried out on a bomb in the attack.
The term ‘dissident republicans’ refers to individuals who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement – the 1998 peace deal which ended the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The Provisional IRA – the main armed republican paramilitary group for most of the Troubles – declared a ceasefire in the run-up to the agreement and officially ended its violent campaign in 2005.
Dissident republicanism is made up of various groups which broke away from the Provisional IRA in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
The groups are much smaller than the Provisional IRA, but they have been known to use improvised explosive devices and mortars in attacks and attempted attacks.
