Perilous Times
Roadside bomb explodes in Northern Ireland
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 10, 2010 4:06 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Roadside bomb in Northern Ireland's County Armagh
* No reports of injuries; bridge was destroyed
* Shots fired at officers across border in Republic of Ireland
* Five detained on suspicion of transporting explosives across
border
(CNN) -- A roadside bomb exploded in a county along Northern Ireland's
border with the Republic of Ireland Saturday, according to Danny
Kennedy, a member of the Northern Ireland assembly.
Northern Ireland police said the explosion occurred in County Armagh,
near Newtownhamilton, before 5:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. ET). Authorities
said a bomb destroyed a bridge, but no injuries have been reported.
Heavy rain was impeding the investigation, police said.
Meanwhile, in the Republic of Ireland's County Louth (which borders
County Armagh), shots were fired at officers, according to Northern
Ireland Policing Board member Basil McCrey.
McCrey also told CNN that police in County Louth stopped a car on
suspicion of transporting explosives across the border from the
Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland. Five people were detained.
McCrey said another car successfully made it over the border. He
believes the incidents are related.
The five people detained by police are still being held for questioning
in the Republic of Ireland. They can be held up to 72 hours without
charges.
In April, three people were injured in an explosion outside a police
station in Newtownhamilton. It's a small village in County Armagh that
saw some violence in the struggle between Irish Catholic Republicans
and Ulster Protestants during the years of conflict known as "The
Troubles." In 1973, two British Army soldiers were killed in
Newtownhamilton when their patrol hit a landmine.
Journalist Peter Taggart contributed to this story