Dissident republicans were today blamed for a failed bomb attack on a police station in Derry city.
Chief Inspector Ken Finney
Armed men hijacked a van and ordered the driver to take the vehicle, which contained a blast incendiary device, to the Strand Road PSNI station.
The driver abandoned the van and raised the alarm around 12.30am.
British army experts made the device safe this morning following an operation that saw nine homes evacuated.
Police said the driver was threatened at gunpoint by the masked gang after his vehicle was hijacked in the Altcar Park area. It was abandoned on Northland Road.
Chief Inspector Ken Finney condemned the gang and warned the attack could have been fatal.
"Those behind last night's attack showed remarkable contempt for the people of this city," he said.
PA