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A powerful explosion rocked the area outside Dunmurry police station on Saturday night, with a local resident describing the noise as resembling a car crashing into a wall. Joe Morgan, who lives just over 100 yards from the station and has two young children, was preparing for bed when he heard the sudden loud bang. Upon learning from neighbours that an explosion had occurred, his immediate priority became ensuring the safety of his family by evacuating his home.
According to police, the attack likely involved the dissident republican group known as the New IRA. The incident began shortly before 23:00 BST when a delivery driver’s vehicle was hijacked in Twinbrook, west Belfast. The attackers had rigged the van with a gas cylinder device and forced the driver to take it to the police station. The driver abandoned the vehicle right outside the building before the bomb detonated, while officers were assisting in evacuating nearby residents, including families with young children.
Morgan recalled his shock and swift reaction, especially since his pregnant wife was staying elsewhere at the time. He was advised by police to vacate his residence due to concerns about potential secondary devices. “Your brain starts going 100 miles a minute at that point,” he described, explaining how he packed a bag and took his children, aged two and four, to a relative’s house. The family was not able to return home until late the next day. The priority for Morgan was clear: “The focus is on the kids and getting them to safety.”
The Police Federation for Northern Ireland condemned the bombing as a reckless and desperate act. Its chair, Liam Kelly, described it as “the definition of madness.” He emphasized that the attack serves no meaningful purpose but highlights ongoing threats faced by officers and communities. Dissident republican groups such as the New IRA reject the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 peace deal that largely ended the Troubles. These smaller factions, including the Continuity IRA and New IRA, have continued to engage in violent actions, using weapons and explosives despite being significantly less powerful than the Provisional IRA, which declared a ceasefire and ended its armed campaign in 2005
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