The Northern Secretary, the Chief Constable and the political parties have blamed dissident republicans for a series of firebomb attacks in Belfast.
A Homebase DIY store at a retail park off Boucher Road in the south of the city was destroyed and a branch of Reid's furniture was damaged. Some Homebase staff were in the building when the devices exploded. Smyth's toy store nearby was also targeted.
In central Belfast, JJB Sports in Ann Street was also damaged.
Fire crews were called to the fires at about 2am yesterday and some 70 firefighters tackled the blazes at their height.
Chris Kerr from the Fire and Rescue Service said the scene at Boucher Road was very dangerous. "The crews were deployed inside Reid's and we had aerial appliances pumping water above the premises to stop that fire from spreading," he said.
"At one stage, there was an explosion involving gas cylinders inside the Homebase area, which hampered firefighting efforts."
Supt Ken Eccles said police could not rule out the possibility of more attacks. "I would ask people to be vigilant and also to maintain searches of their premises."
One man has been arrested in connection with the incidents. He is being questioned about a series of incidents over some time. Police also carried out a series of searches in the Glengormley and Newtownabbey areas of south Co Antrim and Killough in Co Down.
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde is resisting DUP demands to call on British army support, insisting his service could contain the dissident republican threat.
Speaking at a public session of the policing board in Newcastle, Co Down, he said: "We need the support of the community. Collectively we will deal with this threat once and for all. A huge amount of police effort is going on. Without doubt we have disrupted serious attacks on the infrastructure of this country.
"We have shown we are more than capable of dealing with this threat. If we need military support that will be my decision. My current assessment is we do not need any military support."
Peter Hain echoed Sir Hugh's claim, shared by Tony Blair in the House of Commons, that dissidents were out to derail political efforts ahead of the governments' November 24th deadline for agreement on devolution at Stormont.
"They will not be allowed to succeed," he said. "We will hunt them down and the whole community is united against them."
South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell denounced the dissidents. "There is some desperation among the dissidents because they know they are about to pass out of history completely.
"They know they have nothing to offer, which is why they can't even produce a manifesto. Successful restoration of the devolved institutions, power-sharing and a shared future will mean that there is no place whatsoever for them or their likes."
Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey said: "This sort of activity does nothing for this community and is an attack on the peace process which is supported by the overwhelming number of people on this island."