Moment police officer escapes death after car bomb explodes metres way

Two babies were being taken to safety just as the car bomb went off,sending debris in all directions and engulfing the van in flames. (Picture: PA)

First minister Michelle O’Neill said those behind the explosion ‘speak for absolutely no one’.

Deputy chief constable Bobby Singleton said: ‘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,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.

‘I want to reassure our community that the Police Service of Northern Ireland will not be deterred or distracted by last night’s senseless and reckless attack.

Prefer us to the others? Then tell Google!

As a loyal Metro reader,we want to make sure you never miss our stories when searching for your news. Whether it is the latest politics news explained,live football coverage or a showbiz scoop.Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.Add us as a Preferred SourceOur journalists work hard to deliver the most important stories from around the world‘We’ve made great progress as a society and we won’t allow those who are intent on dragging us backward to succeed. Instead we’ll continue to work with our communities to protect them from harm.’It comes a month after a pizza delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to use his vehicle to transport an explosive device to Lurgan police station.The bomb failed to detonate but the incident was attributed to dissident republicans.A police vehicle in Twinbrook,where the bomb was believed to have been loaded onto the vehicle (Picture: PA)Mr Singleton acknowledged there were ‘similarities between the two incidents’ and that police were working under the belief that the ‘New IRA’ were behind the attack.He added that the bomb placed outside Dunmurry police station,made up for its small size with its ‘recklessness’ and that officers were given no warning of the impending attack.Brendan Mullan,the chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board,said the attack was planned to ’cause maximum harm’ in a residential area.

What is the New IRA?

The New IRA is a paramilitary dissident republican group formed from successor groups to the original provisional IRA or Irish Republican Army.

A dissident republican group,the New IRA has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on targets in Northern Ireland as well as in the rest of the UK

Irish police foiled a huge New IRA attack in 2017 after discovering six kilos of semtex at a location in Dublin.

In 2019,the New IRA claimed responsibility for five suspect packages which were sent to locations around England and Scotland,including London City Airport,Waterloo station and Heathrow.

The group planned to disrupt Joe Biden’s visit to Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April 2023.

Most recently,the terrorist organisation forced a pizza delivery driver to transport an explosive device to a police station in Lurgan.

‘Such acts of violence have no place in a society committed to peace. We stand united in condemnation of those responsible for this terror,and in voicing support for the work of the officers and staff of the PSNI’,he said.

Liam Kelly,chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland said the incident was ‘the definition of madness’ and had ’caused great upset and generated widespread and justifiable revulsion’.

He added those responsible were a ‘throwback to the dark ages of the Troubles’,referencing the region’s conflict prior to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .