No one injured in partial blast, which occurred as police were clearing the Cathedral area of the city

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Hundreds of Christmas revellers had to be evacuated from central Belfast on Friday night after a bomb partially exploded during one of the busiest nights of the festive season.

The device went off as police officers were clearing the Cathedral area of the city around 6.45pm.

The police had been responding to a telephone warning that a bomb had been left in the district. Republican dissident group Óglaigh na hÉireann later admitted responsibility for the bomb, which they said was left inside a rucksack.

It appears the bomb was intended to target officers who were trying to usher civilians out of the area. It is understood the device only partially exploded during the clearance operation.

No one was injured in the blast, which was close to the packed commercial area where some of Belfast's most famous bars and restaraunts are situated.

Police along with army bomb disposal officers sealed off the Talbot Street and Exchange Street area in a follow-up security operation. The Police Service of Northern Ireland's helicopter was also deployed in the operation.

Residents in apartments around the cobblestone streets of the Cathedral Quarter, which is also a popular tourist destination, were also evacuated from their homes. Belfast City Council opened an emergency refuge for the residents at City Hall.

Democratic Unionist Stormont Assemby member Jonathan Craig condemned the incident as "absolutely reckless".

He added there was "an explosion as the area was being cleared" and that it was a "miracle" if no one had been injured.

The Alliance Party's South Belfast Assembly member Anna Lo also condemned those responsible for the bombing.

Lo said: "There is no place in our society for those responsible for this bomb.

"They have no regards for the consequences of their actions and do not care if people are injured or killed.

"I am disgusted by their actions. The vast majority of the public have accepted the peace process and do not want to see violence return to our streets. There is no support for those behind this disgraceful attack on society.

"If anybody has any information about those behind this bomb then I would urge them to contact the Police to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice."

Over the last few weeks dissident republican terror groups have carried out bomb attacks not only in Belfast but also Derry.

A fortnight ago the new IRA in Derry tried to force a female bus driver to take a large bomb into the city centre and leave the device outside a police station. Instead the driver risked her own life by driving the bus with the bomb on board to a rural location out of the way from built up areas.

In the same week Oghlaigh na hEireann forced a man from the Ardoyne area of north Belfast to drive his car with a bomb on board into the centre of the city. The driver alerted police after he abandoned the car outside the Victoria Square shopping centre which is across the road from the PSNI's Musgrave Street police station.