Tuesday, 8 September 2009
British army bomb disposal experts have defused a large explosive device found planted close to the border in south Armagh today.
The 600lb device was found on a roadside near the village of Forkhill and had a command wire leading to a firing point on the other side of the border.
Dissident republicans are believed to be responsible for planting the bomb.
Irish soldiers and Gardai mounted a security operation on the southern side of the border while the device was being made safe today.
The remnants have now been taken away for forensic examination.
A 600 lb bomb which was found in Northern Ireland has been defused by a bomb disposal team. A map of the British Isles with Northern Ireland in red.

The bomb was found on the side of a road near the village of Forkhill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. It was defused by an expert bomb disposal team from the Irish Army. The explosives were home-made and weighed 600 lb (270 kg). It is believed that the bomb was planted there by dissident republicans.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland believed that there could have been a "devastating outcome" — and that they were also potentially targets of the bombers.  Chief Inspector Sam Cordner said: "The actions of terrorist criminals in planting this device in the Forkhill area put local people and police officers at significant risk." 

"Their actions were reckless and dangerous in the extreme. Their target may have been the police, but they did not care who they killed or injured. It is only through the hard work and professionalism of police officers and their military colleagues that the area has been made safe," Cordner said.

20 people had to evacuate their homes while the bomb was safely defused. Authorities took the device and will conduct a forensic examination.