Teenager injured in 'pipe bomb attack'

A 14-year-old boy was injured tonight in what appeared to be a loyalist pipe bomb attack in east Belfast.

He suffered a back injury when the suspected pipe bomb was thrown into the nationalist Short Strand area.

The injury, at the junction of Bryson Street, followed a night of sporadic violence in the area, said a spokesman.

The teenager was taken to hospital where his condition was said to be not serious.

Meanwhile a Belfast bus driver was recovering after suffering head injuries when he was pistol-whipped during an armed robbery in the north of the city.

It is understood the Citybus driver had just stopped to allow passengers off near the Old Park Road when two youths boarded and demanded money.

After he handed over a quantity of cash one of them beat him around the head with a pistol before the couple ran off.