fitted with a gas cylinder device and he was forced to drive it to Dunmurry station. Several residents, including two babies, were being taken to safety by officers when it exploded. The police say they currently believe the attack may have been carried out by the dissident republican group known as the New IRA.

 The car was hijacked in Twinbrook in west Belfast and the device exploded when the car was parked outside Dunmurry police station, on the outskirts of Belfast. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said no one was injured thanks to the swift action taken by officers. He said the police base was operational but, had it not been for the "immediate action" and "courage" of officers who were there "we could very well have been looking at potential fatalities".

 Singleton said the investigation will be led by the PSNI Terrorism Investigation Unit and he appealed for anyone with information to contact them. He said that there were "very many similarities" with an incident last month at Lurgan police station in County Armagh, and that the PSNI's "early working hypothesis is that this may well be the work of the New IRA who claimed responsibility for the attack in Lurgan".

 "Having said that, obviously our investigators will keep an open mind, it is still at the very early stages of the investigation", he added. "Our thoughts today are with all those affected by this cowardly attack, the delivery driver for whom this will have been an extremely traumatic experience", Singleton said. "Residents who are still unable to return to their homes, our courageous officers and of course their families, who will be grateful their loved ones are safe, but will undoubtedly have been left shaken by the ordeal".

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the attack. He posted on X: "My thoughts are with the local community, and with the PSNI officers who work every day to keep people safe. I urge anyone with information to come forward. "Those responsible will be brought to justice". Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said it was "everyone's responsibility to call out such reckless attacks".

 "This was not just an attack aimed at our incredible and hard-working police officers and staff. These mindless idiots wantonly risked the lives of local residents including very young children", he said. "This was an attack against the very society that so many people have strived to achieve". The attack has been condemned by both the first and deputy first minister. (BBC)