Red Hand Defenders claim pipebomb attack

A Loyalist paramilitary group has claimed responsibility for a pipebomb attack last night. The attack took place at the home of a Catholic family in Ballynahinch, County Down. The Red Hand Defenders said that they were responsible for two devices, which were left on the windowsill and front door of the house.

The explosions caused minor damage, but the occupants were uninjured. The front window was broken and the doorstep was also slightly damaged. The owner of the house at Loughside Drive blamed the UDA.

The man told BBC Radio that his next door neighbour had a pipebomb at her house on 1 February. He said that the neighbour two doors up also had a pipebomb placed at her house.

The owner claimed that there had been a series of incidents from assaults to pipebomb attacks on Catholics in Ballynahinch. His 17-year-old daughter escaped injury when she went downstairs to investigate the first explosion.

"It's absolutely crazy. They aren't going to be happy until they kill a Catholic, any Catholic," he said. "You don't have to be anything, a Republican or anything, just be a Catholic."

The SDLP MP for South Down condemned the attack, which he said had been clearly designed to kill. Such incidents, said Eddie McGrady, were undertaken to create division and ferment fear, tension and anxiety in the local community.

A Sinn Féin Councillor also blamed the UDA and said that the Loyalist group had for some time been involved in an anti-Catholic pogrom in the area. Francie Braniff said that he had presented a dossier on this activity to the Northern Secretary a few weeks ago.

Mr Braniff said that Dr John Reid had "chosen to ignore the reality of this activity". He said that Dr Reid was relying on a security assessment from the RUC Chief Constable, which said that the UDA and UFF were still on ceasefire.

In a separate development, British Army bomb experts have made safe a pipebomb found at a hotel at North Street in Ballycastle, County Antrim. The premises were evacuated while the operation took place.

They have also made safe a second pipebomb found this morning at a pub in Ballycastle. This is the second consecutive day that the North Antrim town has seen a security alert. The Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility for an attempted car-bomb attack yesterday, which disrupted the Auld Lammas Fair.