Man in court over Belfast firebomb raid

A 34-year-old man was due in court today charged in connection with an attempted firebomb attack in Belfast City Centre.

The man was appearing before magistrates in the city charged with possession of explosives with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to cause an explosion.

He was arrested in a major security operation in the city centre on Sunday night, during which a second man was shot twice by police.

Police allegedly discovered a device consisting of two gas cylinders and two pipe bombs linked to a number of containers of flammable liquid in a car abandoned outside the motor tax office at Upper Queen Street.

A timer device had been attached and activated.

Acting Assistant Chief Constable Maggie Hunter said the device would have created a “huge fireball with potentially deadly consequences” had it exploded.

Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan is investigating the shooting of a man during the security operation. He was in a stable condition in hospital last night.

The man was shot twice by officers in the chest and leg during the operation.

He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

Army bomb disposal experts defused the device after carrying out a number of controlled explosions.