FORENSIC EXAMINATIONS are expected to get underway this morning at the scenes of two bomb explosions in Derry last night.
The blasts took place moments after each other outside the Tourist Office on Foyle Street and close to the Benefits Office at Strand Road shortly after 8pm on Thursday night, UTV reports. A pre-warning was telephoned to police just after 7.30pm.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said that residents, who are mostly elderly, were evacuated before the blasts and there have been no reports of any injuries. The residents are currently being accommodated in local hotel.
“The people in Derry do not want this disruption. It is cowardly and callous,” PSNI Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin told the media.
There has been widespread and cross-party condemnation of the two incidents with Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford saying: “Their actions are to be condemned. The rationale for these attacks has to be challenged.”
BBC News reports that Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson condemned “the mindless actions of organisations that command minuscule support” and called on the organisation behind the bombs to come forward.
Police have said there will be considerable disruption to traffic in the area today as forensic examinations take place this morning.
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