Police have been criticised for their response to a bomb at a PSNI station in Co Armagh last night that left two people injured.
A warning had been telephoned to a Belfast hospital about an hour before the bomb exploded outside Newtownhamilton police station at 11.20pm.
The bomb is believed to have been placed in a white Toyota Corolla which was then abandoned outside the police station. The bombers reportedly fired a number of shots in the air before fleeing the scene.
Local fire-fighters had cleared the area and PSNI officers were on their way to the scene when the device detonated.
Police said a man and a woman in her 80s were taken to hospital in Newry. It is understood their injuries are not life-threatening. A number of properties were damaged and windows were broken in several homes near the explosion.
It was the second attack on the station in ten days. A viable device was left at the gates of the police station last week. The device, found on the back seat of a silver Peugout 406, consisted of a number of containers of flammable liquids. It was defused by British army technical officers allowing residents of some 60 houses to return to their homes.
Local residents and politicians today criticised the time it took for the police to respond.
PSNI Area Commander Sam Cordner defended his officers. He said it was impossible for police to be everywhere all the time and stressed that responses to dissident attacks had to be carefully considered as the terrorists were intent on killing police. In past incidents police have held back for a time amid fears of secondary booby trap devices or gun attacks.
“Response times in south Armagh are something we keep under constant review,” said Mr Cordner. “However you will be aware that the threat in this area is severe and any police response needs to be measured and properly thought through. I remind you that the intention of these people is to kill police and therefore any reaction by the police needs to be properly thought through and properly measured.”
He also noted that the bomb warning was made to a third party and therefore had to be then passed to police.
SDLP MLA Dominic Bradley said people in south Armagh felt vulnerable. “Given there was an attack only a week ago you would have thought commanders would have reviewed the situation and placed more police on the ground to protect the area,” he said. “They obviously haven’t learned those lessons.”
Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy contrasted the response of the police and fire services. “The police were still not present at that time (when the bomb exploded) and had it not been for the excellent and very prompt work of local firemen, then we could have had a very serious situation,” he said.
PSNI Area Commander Sam Cordner defended his officers. He said it was impossible for police to be everywhere all the time and stressed that responses to dissident attacks had to be carefully considered as the terrorists were intent on killing police. In past incidents police have held back for a time amid fears of secondary booby trap devices or gun attacks.
“Response times in south Armagh are something we keep under constant review,” said Mr Cordner. “However you will be aware that the threat in this area is severe and any police response needs to be measured and properly thought through. I remind you that the intention of these people is to kill police and therefore any reaction by the police needs to be properly thought through and properly measured.”
The attack confirmed heightened fears that dissidents will step up their campaign in the run-up to the UK general election.