Blast bomb found at Drumcree

Device was found as soldiers cut barbed wire

The security forces have discovered a blast bomb in a field at Drumcree in County Armagh.

Army bomb disposal officers earlier carried out a controlled explosion on a suspicious object.

It was found in a field near the temporary army base. The area was cordoned off.

The RUC later described the device as a blast bomb.

The alert came as security was being scaled down at Drumcree following the controversial Orange Order parade last Sunday.

The Order's parade has been barred from marching down the nationalist Garvaghy Road for the fourth consecutive year.

The Order wants to use the route on its return journey from a Somme Commemoration service at Drumcree church but the march is opposed by nationalist residents.

Relative calm

The RUC officer in command of the operation said the move to scale down security at Drumcree had been allowed by the prevailing atmosphere of relative calm.

Assistant Chief Constable Stephen White accused the people who threw the blast bomb of "attempted murder".

The Church of Ireland rector of Drumcree, the Reverend John Pickering, said he was relieved the security operation was over and was optimistic a resolution could be found to the dispute.

On Tuesday, police and troops mounted a search operation in the fields surrounding Drumcree parish church.

They moved in after protesters who called for the Orange Order parade to be allowed down the Garvaghy Road had left the hill.

On Monday night a small number of petrol bombs and fireworks were thrown at police and army lines.

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The crowd of protesters was smaller than on Sunday night - numbering around 300 at the protest's height.

On Monday, RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan paid tribute to the Orange Order for its appeals for calm over the Drumcree dispute.

On Sunday night, a crowd of about 400 loyalist protesters threw petrol bombs at security forces several hours after the annual church parade had passed off peacefully.

Chief constable praises order

A huge steel and concrete security barrier had been put in place to prevent the Orangemen from proceeding down the Garvaghy Road.

Sir Ronnie attributed the relative calm to a variety of factors, including "the very responsible attitude taken by the Orange Order".

Sir Ronnie Flanagan: "Orange Order took a responsible attitude"

"Whatever is the intended way forward, whatever is the means of bringing about a solution, one thing is absolutely certain: force of numbers, violence, is counter-productive," he said.

Sir Ronnie said Northern Ireland was in "a much better position than we have seen in previous years" during the Drumcree period.

Last year, province-wide protests in support of the Orangemen led to widespread disruption as roads were blocked and loyalist rioting marked several nights of violence.

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