Dissident republicans have attempted to kill police officers responding to a report from the public, a senior officer in Northern Ireland has said.

Investigators believe a viable explosive device discovered in Craigavon, County Armagh, represented a failed bid to target members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) overnight on Friday into Saturday morning.

Chief Superintendent Peter Farrar said detectives were keeping an open mind on whether something had been fired but added that elements of the device were designed to murder officers.

He said: “I cannot condemn strongly enough those behind this cowardly and evil attack of terrorism.

“They offer nothing but heartache to this community and their actions here do not reflect the wishes of the vast majority of the good people living in this area.

Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Show all 21 1 /21 Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots A burning car in Creggan, Derry after petrol bombs were thrown at police during riots in Northern Ireland PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Armed police at the scene of unrest PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Petrol bombs being thrown at police PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters EPA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Armed police in Creggan, Londonderry after shots were fired and petrol bombs were thrown at police. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Armed police in Creggan, Londonderry after shots were fired and petrol bombs were thrown at police. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Petrol bombs are thrown at police in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Armed police in Creggan, Londonderry after shots were fired and petrol bombs were thrown at police. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Heavilly armed police guard a crime scene during unrest in the Creggan area of Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. See PA story . Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Hijacked vehicles on fire in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Armed police in Creggan, Londonderry after shots were fired and petrol bombs were thrown at police. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots hijacked vehicles one fire in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Petrol bombs are thrown at police in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Petrol bombs are thrown at police in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots A hijacked car explodes after being set on fire in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots A PSNI officer conducts a search after shots where reportedly fired in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots The scene of unrest in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots Police conduct a crime scene search after shots where fired in Creggan, Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday April 18, 2019. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Niall Carson PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots The scene on Fanad Drive the following day PA Violence erupts in Northern Ireland as journalist killed during riots The scene on Fanad Drive in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, following the death of 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee who was shot and killed when guns were fired and petrol bombs were thrown in what police are treating as a "terrorist incident". PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday April 19, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Unrest. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Brian Lawless PA

“Huge disruption has been caused to the lives of those residents who live nearby, with people being evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night.”

At around midnight police received a report of a loud bang in the Tullygally Road area.

A short time later the PSNI was contacted by a Belfast-based newspaper reporting that it had received a call claiming a device had been fired at a police patrol but had missed its target.

Officers and bomb disposal experts from the army responded and a suspicious object was discovered, and later confirmed as a viable explosive.

Mr Farrar said: “We believe that this attack was set up in such a way as to target local police officers responding to the area following those reports from the public.”

Twenty people were evacuated, including a pensioner aged 80.

The senior officer added: “Attacks on police and other security services are attacks on the entire community and they are an attack on our democracy.

“Anyone willing to launch such an attack in a residential area cares little about our communities. Their reckless violence cannot be allowed to continue.”

Renegades who oppose the peace process have killed police officers, soldiers and prison officers in Northern Ireland, and parts of Craigavon have been a hotspot for dissident activity in the past.

Mr Farrar added: “Clearly this was a lethal device designed to murder police officers or indeed any member of the public, whether they be an older person or a child who would have been in the vicinity of this.”

He confirmed the focus of the police investigation is on dissident republican groups.

In April the journalist Lyra McKee was shot in the head and killed by a New IRA gunman while reporting on riots in Londonderry.