Two controlled explosions have been carried out on a suspect device near the Border in Co Armagh.
The British army dealt with the device found at the junction of Kinelowen Street and St Patrick's Street in Keady yesterday after police had warned of an unexploded bomb.
A caller to a Belfast newsroom claiming to represent the Continuity IRA said dissident republicans had planted the bomb.
British army bomb disposal experts examined the object as the area was sealed off. Property in the surrounding area was searched as it was thought the device, which failed to explode, could have been thrown at police officers on Monday.
The PSNI could not confirm last night if the device was a bomb or a hoax device. The area remained cordoned off as investigations continued.
In Belfast detectives were trying to establish a motive for two petrol bomb attacks on homes in the city. No one was injured in the incidents which happened last night in the Breda area of south Belfast.
Police said the properties sustained minor damage. A spokesman said: "The investigation is in its early stages, and police are keeping an open mind as to the motive at present."
The PSNI, referring to the arrest on Monday of two men in connection with the murder in east Belfast last Friday of loyalist Jameson Lockhart (25), said they were continuing to question the suspects.