The PSNI has said a bomb that exploded in south Armagh yesterday afternoon was designed to kill or maim its officers.
The device exploded at about 5.30pm on a road between Belleek and Cullyhanna.
There were no injuries from the incident, but the blast blew a crater in the road and destroyed a stone bridge nearby.
Chief Superintendent Alisdair Robinson said police were treating the blast extremely seriously.
He said it was a totally reckless act that could have easily lead to loss of life had anyone been driving past at the time of the blast.
Police have launched a major investigation and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
Local politicians are blaming on dissident republicans and SDLP Assembly member Dominic Bradley condemned those behind the incident.
He said: 'It looks as if it was aimed at police travelling through the area.
'The bridge itself is not a major piece of infrastructure which wouldn't have been targeted, so they must have been using the bridge to disguise the device for passing police.
'It was wrong in the past and it's wrong today. It serves no purpose.
'The vast majority of people in south Armagh reject this sort of activity.'
