Dissident attack claim should be ‘treatedwith caution’

POLICING Board member Jonathan Craig said a claim by a dissident republican group that a loud noise heard in the Barnfield Road area was a grenade attack on police should be taken ‘with a pinch of salt’.

Mr Craig was speaking this week after reports of the bang in the early hours of Monday morning. It followed an attack on police in Twinbrook last Wednesday.

Police say they are continuing to investigate the report about the noise in Barnfield Road. Officers have carried out an extensive search in the area but nothing suspicious was located. They have urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious object. They are appealing to anyone not to approach or touch anything that looks out of place and phone police immediately.

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After the reports on Tuesday, dissident group Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed in a message to a journalist that they had thrown a grenade at a police patrol.

However, Mr Craig said the claims from the dissident group should be taken with a ‘pinch of salt.’

“This group are trying hard to destabilise the situation and take us back to somewhere we don’t want to go” he said. “We aren’t going to go back to that situation.

“What we should be doing is supporting the police who serve the whole community. They should not be under any threat.”

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