Belfast police step up patrols after bomb blast

Police in Northern Ireland said on Monday they have stepped up patrols in the center of Belfast after a large bomb partially exploded in the city. No one was injured in the incident on Sunday night but police warned it was part of a "surge" of activity by republican groups opposed to peace in the British province. Masked men wearing boiler suits hijacked a car, loaded it with a bomb containing about 60 kilograms (130 pounds) of home-made explosives and told the terrified driver to go to a shopping center. He left his vehicle near the mall car park and raised the alarm, causing police to evacuate hundreds of people from homes, restaurants and a cinema nearby. As army disposal experts began to disable the bomb the detonator exploded, although fortunately it failed to trigger the rest of the device, damaging only the empty car. "We are viewing this as an effort to try and really disrupt the city center in the run-up to Christmas," said Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris. "It is many years since we have had such a direct attack in the city center of such scale, we are asking people to be vigilant. People will see an increased police presence in the city center." Police chief Matt Baggott warned the incident was part of an increase in activity by groups who still want the British province to be part of the Republic of Ireland. "There has been a surge recently in dissident republican activity. We have seen letter bombs, under-car booby traps, blast bombs, hijackings," Baggott said. "These groupings are trying to bring themselves to notice again. They seem to be in some form of bizarre competition to make sure that they have a profile." In a similar incident last week, a bus driver was ordered to drive to a police station in Londonderry, to the north of Belfast, with a bomb on board. More than 3,500 people died during three decades of violence between Catholic republicans and Protestant unionists who want to remain part of Britain. The unrest was largely brought to an end by 1998 peace accords which created a power-sharing government between the two communities, although low-level violence continues. Baggott said that "99.99 percent of the public are absolutely opposed to anything that will take the province back".