Six pipe bombs were discovered by police close to a nursery school in south Belfast yesterday.
The improvised devices were found when PSNI officers searched undergrowth near Arellian Nursery School in Bentham Drive, which is close to the Loyalist Sandy Row area.
A police spokesman said the devices had been removed for forensic examination.
Inspector Trevor O'Neill said children playing in the area could have been killed or injured.
"These particular devices were found very close to the actual school and there was a lot of kids out this afternoon and they would have been playing in that particular area," he said.
"We are very lucky to get down there in time to prevent death or serious injury to these young children," he said.
The discovery of the bombs was later linked to the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association.
PA