East Belfast: Prison officer injured after bomb explodes under van
A 52-year-old man, who is a serving prison officer, has been taken to hospital after a bomb exploded under a van in east Belfast.
The incident happened at Hillsborough Drive at about 07:10 GMT on Friday.
The officer’s injuries are believed to be serious but not life-threatening.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster said it was a “disgraceful and despicable attack”.
A number of residents have been moved from their homes at Hillsborough Drive.
The Woodstock Road has been closed between its junctions with Omeath Street and Ravenhill Avenue.
Residents living in the area were left shocked and confused.
A man walking his daughter to school said he heard a really loud bang on Friday morning.
“I thought it was possibly a skip had fallen over, some houses being worked on down the street,” he said.
He said the possibility that it could be a bomb “did not enter his mind” and he thought it was related to construction work on the street.
Finlay Spratt from the Prison Officers Association said prison officers had continued to be targeted since the ceasefires and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement
“There is no let up for prison officers, we can’t live a normal life, we’re not allowed to live a normal life by these thugs,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter how often you condemn it, it just seems to go on and on and they’re attacking people who are serving the community, all the community.”
Traffic in the area is being diverted and the road is expected to remain closed for some time.
As a result of the incident, Euston Street Primary School in east Belfast is advising parents that the school can be accessed from Castlereagh Road.
Condemnation
Earlier, there were reports on social media of people hearing a loud bang in the area.
Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt “utterly condemned” the attack.
He said there was “no place for terrorists in my vision of a new Northern Ireland”.
Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly said: “There can be no place for such attacks in our society.
“I hope that the man injured in this incident makes a full and speedy recovery.
“Those behind attacks like this represent no one and have nothing to offer the community.”
DUP MLA Robin Newton said the person or persons who planted the device “must be condemned by all right thinking people”.
“This is a despicable act and it is fortunate that we are not talking about serious or even a fatality today,” he said.
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