Three masked men claiming to be from the Continuity IRA left a device containing five kilos of explosives on a Belfast Citybus last night.
There was an explosion shortly afterwards though no-one was injured.
The men mentioned a recognised code word before telling the sole passenger to get off the bus and ordering the driver to take the bus to Woodbourne RUC station in west Belfast.
The RUC evacuated the area as well as dozens of homes in the Suffolk Road, Black's Road and Stewartstown Road areas.
Shortly after 8 p.m. the explosion rocked the area. An RUC officer at the scene said he believed it to have been a controlled explosion.
Meanwhile, a number of RUC officers have been injured in renewed sectarian rioting in north Belfast.
Bricks and up to six blast bombs were thrown at police and army personnel, and a number of cars were set on fire last night during trouble on the Limestone Road.
One officer received hospital treatment after a blast bomb exploded near him, embedding shrapnel in his flak jacket.
A further 30 officers were hurt, many reportedly suffering from hearing injuries.
A 43-year-old man is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court today charged with riotous behaviour in connection with the disturbances.
Several blast bombs were thrown at houses in the area. One exploded on the nationalist Newington Street. Earlier, army technical experts carried out a controlled explosion on a device at nearby North Queen Street.
In another area of north Belfast, one person was treated for shock after a blast bomb exploded at a house in Seaview Drive, off the Shore Road.
Meanwhile, a soldier critically injured in a blast bomb attack in the loyalist Glenbryne estate in north Belfast on Saturday has regained consciousness.
The 18-year-old Royal Welsh Fusilier will be moved back to Wales to be closer to his family, his commanding officer said.
Speaking on BBC Radio yesterday, Lieut Col Mark Blagbrough said the soldier was much better.
"I am very pleased to be able report that he regained consciousness yesterday afternoon and his family have been able to visit him and talk to him. At one stage I thought we might be preparing for his funeral rather than for his recovery," he said.
A 32-year-old woman arrested in connection with the attack was last night released without charge.