Palace Barracks in Holywood, Co Down

DETECTIVES are investigating claims that a ‘small bomb’ detonated this morning on board a Royal Mail postal van inside a British Army base.

Police initially confirmed they were aware of the incident at Palace Barracks in Holywood, Co Down.

“The cause of the fire is currently being investigated,” a PSNI spokesperson added.

However, it is now believed detectives from the PSNI’s Terrorist Investigation Unit are probing the possibility that the fire was was caused possibly by a “small bomb” planted on the car.

The police said there are no reports of any injuries.

Three hours after Belfast Daily first revealed that a bomb had gone off,  this afternoon police now say “a suspected explosion is one line of enquiry” after a fire in a postal delivery van at Palace Barracks.

It is not the first time Palace Barracks has been targeted by dissident republicans.

In April 2010, the Real IRA planted a bomb in a taxi which exploded outside the rear gate to the complex which also houses MI5’s headquarters in Northern Ireland.