Bomb-making materials found in North Ireland country park: police

LONDON A "significant" amount of bomb-making components and explosives has been found at a country park around 25 miles north of Belfast in Northern Ireland, police said on Sunday.


On Friday a prison officer was injured by a bomb which exploded under his van in Belfast, prompting police to warn of a "severe" threat to security forces as the centenary approaches of the 1916 anti-British Easter Rising.


A 1998 peace deal largely ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland between Protestants who want to remain under British rule and Catholics favoring a united Ireland, but violence sporadically erupts.


"Police have uncovered a significant terrorist hide containing bomb-making components and explosives at Carnfunnock Country Park," the Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement.


"A number of small plastic barrels had been buried in a wooded area. Inside the barrels was a significant amount of bomb-making components including partially constructed devices and a small quantity of explosives."


Police said the haul was discovered after a member of the public reported a suspicious object on Saturday.


Detective Chief Inspector Gillian Kearney said it was too early to link the items to any particular group, but they were undergoing detailed examination.


(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Andrew Bolton)




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