N.Irish police uncover large bomb in abandoned van

Remnants of the IRA ?
The original car bombers are thought to making a comeback .



(Reuters) - Security forces in Northern Ireland have defused a 300 lb (136 kg) bomb in an abandoned van outside a police station, which would have been deadly if it had been detonated, police said on Friday.

Some 350 people were evacuated from their homes in the border village of Aughnacloy in County Tyrone late on Thursday, after police were made aware of a telephone warning and told the device would go off within the hour.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said dissident Republicans opposed to Northern Ireland's peace process had called in a coded warning to a Belfast newspaper but declined to say which dissident group had claimed responsibility.

"I have no doubt that if this device had detonated it would have caused complete devastation and lives would certainly have been lost," PSNI Superintendent Brian Kee said. Local inhabitants said the van was abandoned with the engine running and the driver's door open.