Roadside bomb explodes in Northern Ireland

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

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