Police probing north Belfast murder bid on PSNI officers arrested a 27-year-old woman

A 27-year-old woman has been arrested over a dissident republican bomb attack on police officers this week.

Detectives from PSNI Serious Crime Branch detained the woman in connection with the attempted murder of two PSNI officers in north Belfast.

The incident happened on the Crumlin Road in the early hours of Tuesday when two pipe bombs were thrown at the male officers after officers responded to an emergency 999 call.

Two large, grenade-type missiles were thrown as they got out of their vehicle and exploded a few yards away.

The officers were not injured but were left shaken by the attack.

One was said to have been “blown off his feet” by the force of the blast.

The woman, who was detained in north Belfast city, is currently assisting police with their enquiries.

North Belfast area comander PSNI Chief Inspector Andy Freeburn said police were treating Tuesday’s attack as attempted murder.

“This was a blatant attempt to murder our police officers who were out protecting the community,” said Chief Inspector Freeburn.

PSNI Chief Inspector Andy Freeburn says bomb attack was a murder bid on his officers

“It is just sheer good fortune that they were not killed or seriously injured.

“The people who carried out this attack showed a total disregard for the people within this community,” he said.

The Crumlin Road has been closed and a number of homes have been evacuated.

Some residents have taken shelter at Ballysillan Leisure Centre.

This is the second bomb attack on a police patrol in Belfast in less than a fortnight.

A pipe bomb device was found after shots were fired at three police officers in the Foxes Glen area of Twinbrook earlier this month.

Following the Foxes Glen attack, Belfast Daily revealed on May 18 that intelligence in the hands of police bosses warned that ONH was planning to step up its gun and bomb campaign on the security forces in the coming weeks.

Officers reporting for duty after the Foxes Glen murder bid were alerted to the threat to their lives both on and off duty following fresh information gleaned by the PSNI’s C3 Intelligence Branch.

They were told the attacks could include:

* undercar booby trap devices planted under their cars at home addresses:

* pipe bomb devices thrown at police vehicles;

* bogus call outs for a potential gun ambush.

A security source told Belfast Daily: “All police are now on heightened alert, particularly in the Greater Belfast area.

“They have been told to step up their personal security around their homes.

“They have also been told to be on the alert further gun attacks when answering ‘shouts’ about burglaries, car thefts etc.

“These are dangerous times and all officers are having to step up their guard for further attacks in the coming weeks.”