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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| East Belfast: Prison officer injured after bomb explodes under van | East Belfast: Prison officer injured after bomb explodes under van |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A 52-year-old man, who is a serving prison officer, has been taken to hospital after a bomb exploded under a van in east Belfast. | |
| Police said the incident happened at Hillsborough Drive at about 07:10 GMT on Friday. | |
| The officer's injuries are believed to be serious but not life-threatening. | |
| Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster said it was a "disgraceful and despicable attack". | Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster said it was a "disgraceful and despicable attack". |
| Residents living in the area were left shocked and confused. | |
| A man walking his daughter to school said he heard a really loud bang on Friday morning. | |
| "I thought it was possibly a skip had fallen over, some houses being worked on down the street," he said. | |
| He said the possibility that it could be a bomb "did not enter his mind" and he thought it was related to construction work on the street. | |
| Finlay Spratt from the Prison Officers Association said prison officers had continued to be targeted since the ceasefires and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. | |
| "There is no let up for prison officers, we can't live a normal life, we're not allowed to live a normal life by these thugs," he said. | |
| "It doesn't matter how often you condemn it, it just seems to go on and on and they're attacking people who are serving the community, all the community." | |
| A number of residents have been moved from their homes at Hillsborough Drive and an emergency evacuation centre has been opened at the Salvation Army on the Cregagh Road. | |
| The Woodstock Road has been closed between its junctions with Omeath Street and Ravenhill Avenue. | |
| Traffic in the area is being diverted and the road is expected to remain closed for some time. | Traffic in the area is being diverted and the road is expected to remain closed for some time. |
| As a result of the incident, Euston Street Primary School in east Belfast is advising parents that the school can be accessed from Castlereagh Road. | As a result of the incident, Euston Street Primary School in east Belfast is advising parents that the school can be accessed from Castlereagh Road. |
| Condemnation | Condemnation |
| Earlier, there were reports on social media of people hearing a loud bang in the area. | Earlier, there were reports on social media of people hearing a loud bang in the area. |
| Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said he "utterly condemned" the attack. | |
| He said there was "no place for terrorists in my vision of a new Northern Ireland". | He said there was "no place for terrorists in my vision of a new Northern Ireland". |
| Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said: "There can be no place for such attacks in our society. | |
| "Those behind attacks like this represent no one and have nothing to offer the community." | |
| DUP MLA Robin Newton said the person or persons who planted the device "must be condemned by all right thinking people". | DUP MLA Robin Newton said the person or persons who planted the device "must be condemned by all right thinking people". |
| "This is a despicable act and it is fortunate that we are not talking about serious injury or even a fatality today," he said. |