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An explosive device has been found under the vehicle of a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) at a rural property just outside Dungiven, Co Derry, security sources have said.
The North’s First Minister Arlene Foster has blamed dissident republicans for the bomb attack on the female PSNI staff member. The security alert at Ballyquin Road, Dungiven, is continuing.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan confirmed the device was viable, and said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances.
“We are treating this as an attack on a member of staff who also serves her community as a part-time police officer,” he said.
In a joint statement on Tuesday afternoon, the North’s First and Deputy First Ministers, DUP leader Ms Foster and Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin, condemned the attempt on the woman’s life.
“This is a shameful and vile attack on a police officer and I utterly condemn those responsible,” Ms Foster said.
“All right-thinking people will reject those who try to drag us back into violence through such cowardly deeds.
“People across Northern Ireland will unite in agreement that this barbarity has no place in today’s society and that this dark and sinister agenda is a thing of the past, not our future.”
Ms O’Neill said it was a “shocking and deplorable attempt on the life of a police officer that will rightly be reviled across the community. My thoughts are very much with the police officer concerned and her family.
“Those behind this reckless attack have absolutely nothing to offer society and have shown a callous disregard for the entire community. They seek only to drag our communities backwards; they have no place in our society and they should disband,” she said.
The attack was also condemned by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Steve Aiken, who said there must be “no hiding place for those who seek to murder police officers or use violence in pursuit of any political objectives.”
The DUP’s Assembly member [MLA] in the area, George Robinson, said local DUP politicians had met with police twice in recent weeks to “highlight our concerns that dissident Republicans were trying to exert their influence and recruit in the wider Roe Valley area”.
He said they had raised a concern that given that dissident republicans were being “heavily monitored” in Derry City, “they would attempt to extend their violent activities to this area and members of the Police and security force family would be their targets.
“Today’s events has reinforced our fears and turned them into reality,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with this officer and her family and we make a plea for anyone who has any scrap of evidence that they come forward to ensure that the perpetrators behind this latest action are caught and dealt with.”
SDLP MLA Cara Hunter also condemned the attack. “No one should have to live in fear of going to work,” she said. “Our officers protect our communities every day and keep them safe. My thoughts are with the officer and their families,” Ms Hunter said. - Additional reporting PA