An investigation is under way today into fierce rioting in north Belfast that left a Protestant teenager dead after a suspected pipe bomb went off in his hand.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the 16-year-old, believed to be from the Tiger's Bay area, had been handling what appeared to be a pipe bomb when it exploded. He lost a hand, suffered severe head injuries and died later in hospital.
The police later rejected claims by loyalists that the pipe bomb had been thrown from the nationalist side. Loyalists had claimed the boy had been trying to pick up the bomb after it was thrown from a nationalist area.
A spokesman said a man wearing a distinctive top and mask had been spotted running out from the loyalist crowd, "raising a fizzing object into a throwing position".
The trouble erupted yesterday when loyalists and republicans clashed after a Remembrance Day Service in Tiger's Bay.
Police officers moved into the area when sectarian riots broke out between mobs in Duncairn Gardens and North Queen's Street.
Two men were injured in the explosion, and 24 police officers and two soldiers were hurt during the riots. Fifteen police vehicles were damaged.
An 11-year-old boy was treated in hospital for a leg injury that Catholic residents claim was caused by a plastic baton round. Nine plastic baton rounds were fired.
PA