Pipe bomb found in east Belfast alert
A small, viable pipe bomb has been discovered during a security alert in east Belfast.
A number of homes were evacuated after the alarm was raised in the Templemore Avenue area of the city on Tuesday morning.
Police and army bomb squad officers were tasked to the scene and carried out a controlled explosion on a suspicious object.
It was found to be a “small, viable pipe bomb type device” and was taken away for further testing.
The alert has now ended and Templemore Avenue, which was closed between Newtownards Road and Albertbridge Road, has now been re-opened.
Local councillor Maire Hendron condemned those responsible.
“Somebody could have been seriously injured or killed had this pipe bomb exploded,” the Alliance representative said.
“There can be no justification for leaving this device in a residential area, where a child could have picked it up. The vast majority of people in Northern Ireland are opposed to the actions of those behind this pipe bomb.”
Detective Sergeant Dolores Black appealed for anyone with any information about this incident to contact the police in Musgrave on 101.
