Loyalists blamed for pipe bombing

A pipe bomb exploded in the back seat of the car

Loyalist paramilitaries have been blamed for a pipe bomb attack on a home in north Belfast.

A mother and her young child escaped injury when the device exploded inside their car shortly after 1800 BST on Saturday.

The woman was walking towards the car in Alliance Avenue with her three-year-old son in her arms when the pipe bomb was thrown.

She was later treated in hospital for shock.

The device flew over houses before landing in the back seat of the car and exploding

Margaret McClenaghan
Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein councillor Margaret McClenaghan said she believed the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was responsible.

"The device flew over houses before landing in the back seat of the car and exploding," she said.

"The mother in the house was actually on her way out with the child in her arms to put him into the baby seat, which was in the car and is where the pipe bomb exploded.

"They are very, very lucky. A few steps quicker and she would have actually been at the car, putting the child in when that pipe bomb came over."

Mrs McClenaghan said the homes of Catholics in Alliance Avenue were attacked by loyalist stone throwers throughout the day before the device was thrown.

She accused the UDA of carrying out a campaign against all the Catholics who lived on the street.

A police spokesman confirmed that when officers arrived on the scene they found a broken window in the car and damage to its interior.

However, he said the remains of the device were removed before they arrived.