Loyalist rioter killed as bomb goes off in his hand

A Protestant teenager died tonight after a device exploded in his hand as he prepared to throw it during fierce rioting in north…

A Protestant teenager died tonight after a device exploded in his hand as he prepared to throw it during fierce rioting in north Belfast.

The 17-year-old was believed to be from the hardline loyalist Tiger's Bay area.

He suffered severe head and arm injuries and died later in hospital, police said.

A spokesman added: "A number of police officers saw a man move forward with what appeared to be a pipe bomb in his hand. It exploded in his hand causing injuries to his head and arm."

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The trouble erupted when loyalists and republicans clashed after a Remembrance Day Service in Tiger's Bay.

Police officers in riot gear moved into the area when sectarian clashes broke out between rival mobs in Duncairn Gardens and North Queen's Street.

Trouble later spilled over on to the nearby Limestone Road.

The security forces swamped the area tonight to keep rival factions apart as the situation remained extremely tense.

Both sides have blamed each other for the violence.

Sinn Féin Assembly member for North Belfast Gerry Kelly denied loyalist claims that the pipe bomb that killed the teenager had been thrown by Republicans.

"I can tell you with absolute certainty it was not thrown from the nationalist side. The bomb was at the loyalist end."

Mr Kelly claimed the trouble began in the morning when loyalists taking part in a Remembrance Day Service in Tiger's Bay attacked Catholic homes.

"One man has lost his eye from the attack," he added.

He said a wholesale riot broke out around 5 p.m. when loyalists maneuvered around a police vehicle and attacked the nationalist crowd.

"The police fired plastic bullets at nationalists. A young lad aged ten was hit in the leg and a girl aged 11 or 12 was hit in the stomach. She has gone to hospital," he added.

But Eddie McClean, a Protestant community worker vehemently denied that the teenager was preparing to throw the bomb when it exploded.

"The blast bomb was thrown over from the Republican side. He picked it up to throw it away when it exploded. The police are very quick to make assumptions," he said.

Mr McClean said a 12-year-old boy was injured in the neck by the blast and has been taken to hospital.

He claimed the trouble began around noon today when nationalists disrupted a Remembrance Service in North Queen Street.

PA