A British army bomb disposal expert defused two pipe bombs in Northern Ireland, the RUC said tonight. The operation in Magherafelt, Co Derry, followed two overnight attacks on homes in north Belfast, the scene of intense sectarian strife over the summer.
A security alert in Magherafelt started this afternoon after one device was found at the back of a house in Leckagh Walk. A second was found later in a house nearby.
Both were made safe and items recovered for further examination, an RUC spokesman said.
Earlier a crude blast bomb went off at Rosemount Gardens, north Belfast. No-one was hurt but the explosion caused slight damage to the wall of a house.
And a firework was thrown through the window of a house in nearby Easton Crescent. No-one was home at the time.