A British army bomb disposal expert has defused a hand grenade outside an RUC station in the Rosemount area of Derry. The Irish Nationalist Liberation Army, in a coded warning to a local newsroom, claimed responsibility for the attack. The device was thrown at the station just after 11 p.m. on Thursday, and when it failed to explode, a man using a recognised codeword telephoned a warning to a local radio station. The security forces moved in at first light yesterday and cordoned off the area. The unexploded grenade was found on a grass embankment close to the RUC station's perimeter fence.
Several houses close to the scene were evacuated and children in a nearby school were moved to the rear of the building. A British army technical officer carried out a controlled explosion on the grenade, and the area was reopened to the public. An RUC spokesman said: "We condemn those involved in this highly irresponsible act, which should be seen as an attack on the entire community."