Bomb explodes in Belfast city centre

A car hijacked by masked men in north Belfast was abandoned and partially exploded  in the car park of Victoria Square last night.

While there were no injuries, residents of the building’s apartment complex were evacuated and hundreds were caught up in the security alert, the third to hit the city in just one day.

As well as being a busy shopping centre Victoria Square also provides part time jobs for many Belfast students who are worried about the affect of continued security alerts during stores’ busiest period.

The security alert began at around 9.30pm after three masked men dressed in boiler suits hijacked a car in the Jamaica Street area of north Belfast.

A 60kg ‘beer-keg’ bomb. was then placed in the Renault Laguna and the driver was told to take it to Victoria Square.

Caitlín McStravick, third year English student and part time employee of Calvin Klein in the shopping centre, says of the attacks: “It’s a disgrace that a small minority continue to drag this on and disrupt the lives of innocent people trying to go to work, do their Christmas shopping or enjoy a night out in the city centre.”

PSNI Chief Superintendent Alan McCrum said the potentially fatal blast “could have been catastrophic for Belfast and Northern Ireland”.

Justice Minister David Ford blamed dissidents for the attack, slamming their “total disregard for life” and “disregard for the people of Belfast”.

He said: “The people responsible for this attack have nothing to offer and it is time they realised that Northern Ireland has moved on from the dark days of our past.”

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