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Grenade hits police vehicle in Belfast

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AFP London

Northern Irish police said one of their patrol vehicles was hit in a grenade attack in Belfast on Wednesday, in an attempt to kill or injure officers.

The vehicle was struck overnight, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said, as it drove on a routine patrol through Republican heartland in west Belfast.

The Land Rover was hit, officers heard a loud bang but no officers were injured and the vehicle was undamaged, Chief Superintendent Jonathan Roberts said. "The remnants of a suspected grenade have been recovered and taken away for forensic testing," he said.

"Further searches are being conducted this morning to ensure there are no other devices present which could endanger members of the public.

 

"This was undoubtedly an attempt to kill or injure police officers." The incident comes just over a week before the December 12 general election, called on the issue of Brexit, which is particularly sensitive in Northern Ireland.

Maintaining the free flow of goods and people across the currently invisible border between the province and the Republic of Ireland was one of the main points of contention in the divorce negotiations between London and Brussels.

The 1998 Good Friday peace accords largely ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

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First Published: Dec 04 2019 | 6:35 PM IST

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