New IRA suspected over car explosion outside Belfast police station

“Murderous intent and capability” still exists within paramilitaries in Northern Ireland , officers have said after a car exploded outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast. Detectives said they believed the New IRA was involved and are treating it as attempted murder. Bobby Singleton, the deputy chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said the car that exploded outside Dunmurry police station had been “hijacked” in a way that bore similarities to an attack on Lurgan police station in March. The vehicle was hijacked shortly after 10.50pm on Saturday in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast and a gas cylinder device was placed in the boot. A male delivery driver was then ordered to drive the car to Dunmurry police station, in the Kingsway area, and abandon it outside. Residents including two babies were evacuated from nearby properties and no one was harmed in the explosion. The first minister, Michelle O’Neill, said those behind the attack “speak for absolutely no one”, while the DUP leader, Gavin Robinson, said police and the public “should never have to face this kind of danger”. At a press conference at PSNI headquarters in Belfast on Sunday, Singleton said officers “immediately and courageously ran into danger, placing themselves in harm’s way, and evacuated nearby homes to protect the community”. …