Police in the British-ruled province of Northern Ireland say they defused a 225-kilogram van bomb near the Irish border Saturday. Officials say it might have been built by dissident members of the Irish Republican Army.
The bomb was discovered south of the town of Newry under a freeway overpass near the main road connecting Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, and Dublin, the capital of the Irish Republic.
Police Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson said the bomb could have caused “huge devastation and loss of life.” Jonathan Bell, a member of Northern Ireland’s policing board, said it would have been “another example of mass murder.”
Officials believe the stolen van was abandoned where it was because of the presence of a police checkpoint.
Bomb experts alerted to the scene carried out a series of controlled explosions before the device was declared safe. The operation disrupted traffic and forced the closure of the main north-south rail line nearby.
Police say there has been no claim of responsibility.
Saturday’s incident comes as police continue to question three suspects in the killing of a Catholic policeman in Northern Ireland.
A booby-trap bomb exploded under Ronan Kerr’s car outside his home in Omagh on April 2.
