Police and soldiers hurt in blast bomb attack

Three police officers and two soldiers were hurt in a blast bomb attack in north Belfast today, police said.

A mob of nationalists then attacked the security personnel, who had been responding to a call on the Whitewell Road.

The attack happened at 4.30am, when the device was thrown by a youth and exploded near the vehicles containing officers and troops.

The five were slightly hurt and a vehicle damaged. None of the injured required hospital treatment, a spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed.

He added: ‘‘A nationalist hostile crowd attacked security forces until assistance arrived. There were no arrests.’’

Whitewell Road has become one of north Belfast’s most volatile sectarian interfaces in recent times.