Security forces in the North were on full alert today after bomb attack was thwarted in Belfast City Centre. Dissident republicans are suspected of being behind the incident.
Police are appealing for information on the movements of a white Ford Transit van, which was hijacked on Carrrigart Avenue this morning. The van, which was carrying a device, was abandoned in Franklin Street in Belfast city centre.
The bomb partially exploded as shoppers and office workers were being evacuated from the area. No-one was injured.
Chief Inspector Bill Brown said: "All the indications we have is that a dissident republican group was behind this."
As British army explosive experts and a forensic team examined the vehicle police said it was too early to confirm what type of device had been used.
Earlier the Continuity IRA had telephoned newsrooms to alert them to the bomb.
But Mr Brown said : "The warning we received was totally inadequate to clear an area of this size.
"Only for the swift action of my officers things would have turned out differently."
PA