Police in Northern Ireland reported a suspected car bomb that exploded in Londonderry on Saturday, Jan. 19, around 8:15 p.m. local time. There were no apparent injuries from the incident as people were urged to stay away from the area.
An image released by police on Twitter showed what appeared to be a burning vehicle in Bishop Street in the center of the city. The suspected blast occurred outside the city’s courthouse.
Bishop Street Closed
STAY AWAY
Suspected Car Bomb pic.twitter.com/S3cFu3zy0i
— PSNI DC&S District (@PSNIDCSDistrict) January 19, 2019
A journalist from the Irish edition of the Sunday Times newspaper reported that the attack was carried out by the New IRA, a terrorist group opposed to the 1998 peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence in the British-run province.
The scene in #Derry’s Diamond where a car bomb had exploded outside Derry Court House on Bishop Street pic.twitter.com/4JumfQoUSo
— Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) January 19, 2019
Some 3,600 people were killed in the conflict that was fought between mainly Protestant unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and predominantly Catholic nationalists. Some sporadic violence continues among small, splinter groups but car bombings are rare.
Police with sniffer dogs checking parked vehicles in the #Derry’s Diamond area amid fears of a secondary device pic.twitter.com/42w20mpJjs
— Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) January 19, 2019
The reported bombing comes as police on both sides of the now-open border between Northern Ireland and European Union-member Ireland have express fears that a return to a hard border after Brexit, complete with customs and other checks, could be a target for terrorist groups.
The @mayordcsdc John Boyle says that the city is shocked and saddened at tonight’s explosion pic.twitter.com/Ze5dcnpODz
— Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) January 19, 2019
Have been told staff have now checked on and reassured the elderly residents of Alexander House. The home is very close to the scene on Bishop Street. Phone lines are down but residents are safe. Some of them, understandably, have been left shaken.
— David Hunter (@davidhunter7) January 19, 2019
