Five arrests over Lurgan bomb bid to kill police
Five men have been arrested by police investigating a bomb attempt to kill officers in Lurgan, Co Armagh.
Three men aged 31, 36 and 46 were detained on Thursday, followed by another two aged 28 and 46 on Friday morning.
Police said “a number of properties have been searched and several items have been removed for forensic examination” as part of an “active and ongoing investigation” into the attack.
It comes after devices were found in the town on Saturday, with one of them “incapable of exploding” but believed to have been planted with the aim of luring officers into the blast radius of a second one, which was “significant and designed to kill”.
The PSNI spent much of Thursday carrying out follow-up searches on a patch of waste land on the back of the weekend’s security alert.
A spokesperson continued: “I would like to thank the community for their continued patience and support.
“I would again urge people to remain vigilant. If you notice anything suspicious please contact us straight away on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
“If you know anything about the incident last weekend when a report of a device, which turned out not to be viable, was made to lure police into the area and a second significant device exploded, please contact police.”
The men who were arrested as part of the Serious Crime Branch investigation are being questioned in Antrim.
