A pipe bomb attack on a police patrol in Belfast was a reckless attempt to kill, a senior officer has said.

Two men were arrested today in a police operation to “foil” a kidnap and robbery in north Belfast.

Politicians today appealed for calm after hundreds of youths clashed during fresh sectarian rioting at a north Belfast flashpoint.

As the third night of violence between loyalist mobs in riot-hit north Belfast subsided, police said they had come under fire.

Police have come under fire as loyalist mobs went on the rampage in north Belfast tonight.