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Bomb found on Northern Ireland road

10 April 2011 01:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A big bomb was found in a van under a major highway in Northern Ireland on Saturday, police said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The 225-kilogram bomb was left in an underpass beneath the main road linking Belfast and Dublin near Newry, close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. Northern Irish police said it could have caused "huge devastation".

Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson said the device was " sophisticated and substantial", and could have caused huge devastation and loss of life.

Army bomb disposal experts carried out a series of controlled explosions on the home-made device. Detectives believe the van was abandoned due to the presence of a police checkpoint. The Irish police increased check activity from last weekend.

The discovery of the bomb came days after Northern Ireland was rocked by the killing of Catholic police officer Ronan Kerr amid fears that dissident republicans opposed to the peace process are stepping up their activities.