A bomb defused near Armagh city on Saturday was displayed to the media yesterday as the RUC confirmed it was the largest device planted in the North since before the signing of the Belfast Agreement.
The device, 1,100lbs of explosives packed into two bins, was twice the size of the Real IRA bomb which killed 29 people in Omagh four months after the signing of the agreement. A senior RUC officer said that again "the finger of suspicion for the bomb is pointing at dissident republicans". The size of the device made it clear those who planted it were intent on creating "murder and mayhem", said Chief Insp Derek Williamson. He said it was planted at the side of the road "obviously with the intent of killing members of the security forces, most likely a police patrol".
Mr Williamson said he was thankful the bomb had been defused, such were its destructive capabilities. "No one needs to be reminded of Omagh." He said the bomb evoked memories of a similar device which exploded on a nearby road in 1990 killing three RUC officers and a nun.
Another alert was mounted in Claudy, Co Derry after a van was abandoned outside the local RUC station. A school, factory and homes were evacuated for five hours while army bomb disposal experts carried out controlled explosions on the van before declaring the alert a hoax.
The RUC said the vehicle had been hijacked in Derry earlier in the day by two armed men who said they were from the IRA.
The van driver was taken to an alley where he was held for a short time before being returned to his vehicle and ordered to drive to Claudy. Supt Ian Hamill said the experience was a frightening one for the van driver and a "callous act which caused fear and anxiety to a community which has in the past experienced terrorist atrocity".
Meanwhile, last night army technical experts were called to examine a suspicious device at William Street, Ballymena, Co Antrim. The street was evacuated while they removed the object for further examination.