Irish Republican dissidents have at least four more booby-trap bombs

Four more explosive devices similar to the one used in an attempt to murder Catholic PSNI Constable Peadar Heffron are believed to be in the possession of dissident republicans. The booby-trap bomb used in Friday’s murder bid is thought to have come from a batch of around half-a-dozen devices constructed with the assistance of a former Irish Republican Army explosives expert.

Police in the North believe another one of the devices may have been used in a bomb attack last year when a policeman’s girlfriend escaped serious injury after a device exploded under her car in east Belfast. Detectives have been investigating similarities between the two bomb attacks, both claimed by Oglaigh na hEireann.

The intensification of the dissident campaign coincides with the crisis at Stormont over the transfer of policing and justice powers. The attempted murder of Constable Heffron will have been carried out by dissidents in a bid to further destabilise the peace process and try to dissuade Catholics from joining the PSNI. Last year saw the highest number of people ever applying to join the PSNI. Dissidents will be hoping their campaign of terror will deter those considering applying.