Renewed Appeal Issued Over Under-Car Bomb Attack

Police have renewed their appeal for information following the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer in Co L'Derry a year ago.

An improvised device was placed under a policeman's car in the Ardanlee area of Culmore on 22 February 2017.

The device failed to detonate and was found in the driveway of the police officer's home after he had driven away.

The PSNI believe the New IRA were responsible for the attack.

Detective Inspector Peter McKennna said: "It was extremely lucky that no-one was hurt and this type of cowardly attack reinforces the fact that this small group of people have no regard for the safety of the local community or indeed the wishes of the vast majority of local people who want to live in a safe and peaceful society.

"The investigation into this attempted murder is progressing - we have arrested four people and searched four properties - but as yet no one has been charged.

"We have also been able to link the device used in this attack with a previous incident in Ballyarnett Village on October 13, 2014 when unsubstantiated reports of a burglary and subsequent bomb warning calls led us to conclude at that time that the sequence of events was a deliberate attempt to lure police officers into the area to try and murder them.

"We believe the New IRA is responsible for both attacks and that similar types of pressure plate devices were used on both occasions. It is obvious the people involved in these attacks simply don’t care about the safety of the local community. They put everyone at risk as these viable devices were left in residential areas and could have exploded at any time.

"I would like to thank the public for their assistance to date but I believe there are still people in the community who hold vital pieces of information that could assist police."

(CD/LM)