Two held after bomb found under PC's car

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Two men were arrested in Northern Ireland last night following the discovery of two bombs seemingly intended to kill police officers.

The men, aged 25 and 34, were arrested in Belfast after an explosive device was found under the car of an off-duty constable. Had it exploded it could have killed him, his wife and two young children, said chief constable George Hamilton. In a separate incident, a pipe bomb was found close to the gates of a station in the town of Tandragee in Mid-Ulster, near the homes of elderly residents.

The device in Belfast was defused by the army. Police hope forensic tests on the remains will identify those who planted it.

Mr Hamilton said he was linking the attacks to "anti-peace" dissident republicans, who have already murdered two police officers. Police have been warning for months that republican militants remain determined to kill members of the security forces. During the past year, police have arrested 115 people suspected of dissident republican activity, and 35 have been charged. Since 2007, 64 officers have been forced to leave their homes because of intelligence they were being targeted for attack.

PA