Newry Car Bomb Condemned

Dissident republicans have been blamed for an overnight car bomb attack in Newry.

Police said it was a "miracle" no-one was injured or killed in the blast, which happened outside the city's courthouse shortly after 10.30pm.

Two coded messages were received less than 30 minutes before the 250lbs device detonated, causing substantial damage to security gates and the adjacent observation sanger.

The court building is situated close to many of Newry's pubs and restaurants.

The PSNI said it had a matter of minutes to respond to the warning.

Police officers were reportedly evacuating the area when the bomb went off. The noise from the explosion is believed to have reverberated several miles.

Buildings in New Street including Downshire Road Presbyterian Church were damaged in the explosion.

Forensic teams began examining the scene at first light, as commuters travelling to and from the city experienced severe traffic delays.

Northern Ireland's political parties have condemned the attack, which came just days after terrorists planted a mortar bomb outside a police station in Keady.

The Stormont Assembly formally denounced the incident before proceedings officially began this morning.

First Minister Peter Robinson said the culprits would not derail the political progress made in recent weeks.

"They will not succeed, for I am equally determined that we will continue to move forward to protect and defend the very same institutions they seek to destroy."

Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister, added: "The perpetrators are acting against the democratically expressed wishes of all the people of Ireland.

"They have nothing to offer our society. Attacks such as this are futile and serve only to strengthen our resolve."

Newry MP Conor Murphy said the targeting of a judicial building while Stormont prepares for the transfer of policing and justice powers "will not be lost on people".

"These people are trying to drag us backwards and ensure we have the British army back on the streets."

DUP MLA William Irwin said the bomb was "a cowardly action by those who want to drag Northern Ireland back to the past".

His party colleague Peter Weir, who sits on the Policing Board, branded those responsible "depraved" and called for a "tough stance" against the "violent dinosaurs".

"Dissidents are also clearly threatened by the political progress made at Hillsborough, and it is vital that we isolate them by all parties showing leadership by backing a progressive way forward," said Mr Weir.

The SDLP's Dominic Bradley said he heard the blast from his home two miles away. He said local people were "absolutely disgusted" at the attack.

"We could easily have been looking at serious casualties or worse this evening and it is no credit at all to the bombers that as far as is known there were no injuries," said the Assemblyman.

"People are saying that they got enough of this sort of thing during the Provo campaign, it was wrong and senseless then and it is wrong now. They are very angry and they want the people responsible taken out of circulation and brought to justice."

Secretary of State Shaun Woodward, who still retains control of Northern Ireland security matters, said: "This is an appalling attack by a very small group of people who refuse to accept that peace is working in Northern Ireland."

Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy said the bomb represented a clear terrorist assault on the intelligence services and government institutions.

"It shows a very worrying level of capability that these dissidents now have," he said.

PSNI Chief Inspector Sam Cordnor said it is "only by sheer miracle" that nobody was killed or injured last night.

(PR/BMcC)