22/02/2018

Renewed Appeal Issued Over Under-Car Bomb Attack

Police have renewed their appeal for information following the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer in Co L'Derry a year ago.

An improvised device was placed under a policeman's car in the Ardanlee area of Culmore on 22 February 2017.

The device failed to detonate and was found in the driveway of the police officer's home after he had driven away.

The PSNI believe the New IRA were responsible for the attack.

Detective Inspector Peter McKennna said: "It was extremely lucky that no-one was hurt and this type of cowardly attack reinforces the fact that this small group of people have no regard for the safety of the local community or indeed the wishes of the vast majority of local people who want to live in a safe and peaceful society.

"The investigation into this attempted murder is progressing - we have arrested four people and searched four properties - but as yet no one has been charged.

"We have also been able to link the device used in this attack with a previous incident in Ballyarnett Village on October 13, 2014 when unsubstantiated reports of a burglary and subsequent bomb warning calls led us to conclude at that time that the sequence of events was a deliberate attempt to lure police officers into the area to try and murder them.

"We believe the New IRA is responsible for both attacks and that similar types of pressure plate devices were used on both occasions. It is obvious the people involved in these attacks simply don’t care about the safety of the local community. They put everyone at risk as these viable devices were left in residential areas and could have exploded at any time.

"I would like to thank the public for their assistance to date but I believe there are still people in the community who hold vital pieces of information that could assist police."

(CD/LM)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

08 February 2022
Ombudsman: 'Collusive Behaviours' From Police In Loyalist Murders
The Police Ombudsman has found significant investigative and intelligence failures and "collusive behaviours" by the RUC in relation to a series of murders and attempted murders by the UDA/UFF in south Belfast in the 1990s.
10 January 2018
Man Arrested Over Attempted Murder Of Off-Duty Police Officer
A man has been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer in Co L'Derry. A viable under-car bomb was discovered outside a house in the Ardanlee area on 22 February last year. Army bomb disposal experts attended the scene. No-one was injured.
27 March 2017
Additional Time Given To Question Suspect Over Bomb Attack
The PSNI have been given additional time to question a man arrested in connection with a bomb attack on police in Strabane, Co Tyrone. The 20-year-old suspect was detained in Newtownstewart on Friday, 24 March, as part of an investigation into the attempted murder of officers on Tuesday, 21 March.
10 August 2010
Lucky Escape In Latest NI Bomb Bid
The intended target for what is thought to be the third attempted car bomb attack on security-related personnel in the past seven days is today lucky to be alive. A device was found in the Sweep Road area of Cookstown this morning with the road being closed near the local Glenavon Hotel.
21 April 2008
Early Morning Petrol Bomb Attack Racial
A foreign national woman who is eight months pregnant was among four people targeted in a petrol bomb attack at the weekend. Police believe that the incident - in County Tyrone - was racial in its nature.