Suspicious person seen running away from spot where bomb was planted

PA Reporter

A suspicious person reportedly ran away from the spot where a booby-trapped bomb was placed to target police in Northern Ireland, an investigator said.

A metal tube made to look like a used mortar was planted in Craigavon, Co Armagh, in a bid to kill police overnight on Friday.

It was designed to explode if moved by local officers lured into the area by fake reports.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective superintendent Richard Campbell said the device was manufactured somewhere and asked anyone with information about activity in an outbuilding or garage in recent days or weeks to contact detectives.

He asked anyone who saw any unusual activity or vehicles acting suspiciously in the area of Tullygally Road on Friday night or in recent days or weeks to get in touch.

A suspicious person was seen running away from the area of the bus stop, near where the device was found, at around 11.45pm on Friday night, the detective said.

(PSNI at the scene on Saturday)

The person was between 5'6" and 5'9" tall, of slim or medium build and believed to be aged in the late teens or early 20s.

The person was described as wearing a light grey or beige long-sleeved hooded top, with the hood up and face covered.

The suspicious individual was reported to have gone from the bus stop into open ground that borders the Tullygally Road, Aldervale flats and Drumglass Estate in an area known locally as the Black Path.

The detective said: "I would appeal to anyone who saw this individual in the area or in the wider Craigavon area on Friday night or early Saturday morning to please contact my detectives."

A phone call to a Belfast newspaper claiming an attack on a police patrol had missed its target and a bang reported at around midnight were fake reports and designed to lure police into the area, investigators believe.

Dissident republicans are the main suspects.