Police Attacked During Explosives Find

Police have come under attack following the discovery of hundreds of pounds of home-made explosives in County Armagh on Tuesday.

A day-long security operation at Monbrief Road East in Craigavon came to an end with crowds throwing petrol bombs, fireworks and other missiles at officers.

During the search the PSNI discovered approximately 400lbs of what was understood to be home-made explosives, which have since been removed for further examination.

The security operation began at around 6.00am on Tuesday morning following a report of suspicious activity in the area.

Roads in the area were closed to traffic during the operation to allow bomb disposal experts to examine what was described as a suspicious object.

As the operation was coming to an end, officers came under sustained attack from youths who had gathered in the area and began to throw the missiles but there are no reports of any injuries among the security forces.

Dissident republicans are thought to be behind the suspected explosives and the PSNI Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, has recently repeated his warning that dissident republicans continue to pose a serious threat to Northern Ireland.

Roads in the area have now been reopened and the explosives have been removed from the scene and are being examined.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at Craigavon.

(SB/KMcA)