Town bomb outcome 'unthinkable'

The people who left a pipe bomb in a Cookstown street at the weekend showed "a blatant disregard for human life", police have said.

Residents of the Burn Road area of the town were moved from their homes for a time on Sunday while the Army made the "viable device" safe.

Another pipe bomb was dealt with in nearby Coagh on Friday night.

Inspector Sue Steen said a link between the two incidents was one line of inquiry being examined by police.

"The outcome had this device (in Cookstown) exploded is just unthinkable," she said.

"This area is in the middle of town, it's a residential and a commercial area, there are houses, there are shops, there's a cinema.

"This device was found over a busy weekend when people would have been in the area just going about their daily business and the consequences had it exploded are just unthinkable, so we want to bring these people before the courts as quickly as possible."

She appealed for anyone who could help the police inquiry to contact them.

Another security alert in Newry at the weekend was declared a hoax.

The Newry-Warrenpoint dual carriageway and the Old Warrenpoint Road were closed overnight and during much of Sunday.

"A hoax object has been removed for further examination," a police spokesman said.