02/11/2017

Armour-Piercing Device Found During Three-Day Security Alert

A suspect device has been found by police during a three-day security alert just outside west Belfast.

The PSNI confirmed that a horizontal armour-piercing device was discovered in the Poleglass area.

A number of residents had to be evacuated from their homes during the alert and the PSNI have blamed dissidents.

Chairperson of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Mark Lindsay, said: "It's bad enough that we have dissident republicans still wedded to murdering Police Officers and causing untold misery for the local community.

"Just as bad is the number of people behind them who assembled the IED, know where parts were sourced and know who was responsible for it and where it was put together.

"They're just as guilty as the murderous thugs who abandoned it in a busy area. They, too, should be made amenable and handed down meaningful prison sentences.

"The wider community has to realise that these faceless would-be attackers have nothing to offer people. Their stock in trade is misery, disruption and fear and only through concerted co-operation with the Police will we be able to rid society of the scourge.

"These people don't speak for the community which they subjected to days of upset and inconvenience. Their outdated and warped view on life needs to be emphatically rejected, and I would appeal to people to work with the Police to bring those responsible for this latest incident to justice."

(CD/JP)

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