A suspected improvised explosive device destroyed a police vehicle in the town of Strabane in County Tyrone at around 11pm. The two policemen escaped unharmed. Residents in the Mount Carmel Heights area described hearing a loud bang. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it appeared to be a targeted attack and was being treated as attempted murder. A security alert in Strabane on Friday affected hundreds of homes. We can confirm that an ongoing security alert in the Mount Carmel Heights area of Strabane appears to have been a targeted attack on police shortly before 11pm last night, Thursday 17 November. pic.twitter.com/9zz6Nu8lLG — Derry City and Strabane Police (@PSNIDCSDistrict) November 18, 2022 Suspicion has fallen on dissident democrats, who have staged sporadic attacks on police and prison staff in recent years. The New IRA has a small base of support in Derry, 14 miles north of Strabane. Police representatives and politicians condemned the attack. “The terrorist aim was to cause distress and misery and take Northern Ireland back to the dark ages,” said Liam Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland. “Nothing is gained from such a cruel, hateful incident. The terrorist threat is being described as ‘substantial’ and I would appeal to all officers to increase their vigilance.” Kelly appealed to the public to help identify those responsible. “This was a desperate, reckless act. It will not deter our colleagues from doing their jobs with professionalism and dedication,” he said. Police Chief Micheal Martin said any attempt to kill or injure police officers was shocking and should be condemned. He spoke during a visit to the Northern Ireland border town of Newry. Maolíosa McHugh, a Sinn Féin member of the Stormont assembly, said the attack could have ended in tragedy. “There is no place for this type of activity in our society and those responsible should get off the community’s back,” he said. Derek Hussey, a member of the Ulster Unionist Party, said the attackers were cowards and thugs. “Any support they have is minimal because the people of Strabane and the rest of Northern Ireland have shown time and time again that they want nothing to do with this kind of madness.” Dissident republicans who reject the peace process and see the Provisional IRA as selling out have engaged in intermittent violence since the Good Friday agreement, including the killing of author Lyra McKee during a riot in Derry in 2019.
