Police hero praised

LONDONDERRY'S top policeman has hailed the bravery of a police officer who twice defied the threat of a large Real IRA bomb to safeguard the lives of civilians.

Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin praised the officer as he revealed the bomb that exploded on Strand Road contained 200lbs of home-made explosives.

It also appeared yesterday that the terrorists may have intended to launch the bomb attack in the early hours of Monday - but were forced to delay it by 24 hours, when two taxi drivers they called to the Coshowen area drove away after the drivers spotted two masked men lying in wait.

But early yesterday the terrorists managed to hijack a taxi and forced the driver to go to Glenfada Park in the Bogside, where the bomb was placed in the vehicle. The driver was warned that he would be shot if he failed to follow instructions to take it to Strand Road police station, where it exploded more than 20 minutes before the terrorists warned it would detonate.

As the PSNI attempted to clear the area following the warning, a courageous officer risked his life as he twice passed the device to lead staff and customers at a cafe to safety.

The police officer’s actions were praised by Area Commander Chief Superintendent Steven Martin, as well as by local DPP chairman, Joe Miller, who said: “The brave actions of this officer, who went out to save life in the face of possible death, contrast starkly with the cowardly actions of those who don masks and force taxi drivers to drive bombs in a bid to take life and cause destruction.”

Miraculously no was injured as terror returned to the heart of Londonderry. The large improvised device detonated at approximately 3.20am causing widespread damage to business premises - 23 minutes after police had received a warning saying they had 45 minutes to clear the area.

The city largely ground to a halt for most of yesterday as police teams scoured the area for debris from the device that left the vehicle that contained it a twisted mess of metal.

The drama began in the early hours of Tuesday morning when two masked men, one of them armed, hijacked a taxi at Cooke Street close to the Bogside.

The men then forced the taxi owner to drive to Glenfada Park where the bomb was loaded into the boot of the car.

Once the bomb was left yards from the station's main gate police received a telephone warning. Police say the warning said the device would explode in 45 minutes. However, the device detonated after just 23 minutes whilst police were still trying to evacuate people from nearby homes and business premises.

Police also said the warning came from a group calling itself Oglaigh Na hEireann - while a number of republican groups use that term it is believed the Real IRA was behind the attack on Strand Road police station.

Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin said the damage was “quite significant” but added that it was only by luck that no one was killed or injured.

He said the terror group had warned that police had 45 minutes to clear the area, adding: “Twenty two minutes later it detonated. The evacuation process was still taking place when the bomb exploded.”

Chief Superintendent Martin praised his officers who worked to evacuate the area, and in particular highlighted the actions of one officer who twice passed the bomb to lead staff and customers at a local cafe to safety.

He described the bombing as “absolute madness” and said those behind it were “anti-Derry”.

Describing the threat from dissident republicans as “severe”, the Chief Superintendent said he believed he had enough resources to police the city.

A businessman whose catering premises were destroyed in the blast was cleaning his shop when he saw the car arrive at the police station.

Lofti Jalloul said on radio yesterday: "I thought he was a taxi driver picking up a passenger but about 15 minutes later, we were evacuated by the police.

"There was a lot of panic. I left the money in the till and didn't even get the chance to pull down the shutters - thank God we got out of there, I can't believe we're still alive.”

Police confirmed yesterday that they were probing a possible link with the attempted hijacking of two taxis on Monday.