Fifth Man Arrested Over Attempted Murder of Two Police Officers

Benjamin Cooper and Rebecca Black (PA)

A fifth man has been arrested in Northern Ireland over the attempted murder of two police officers in Co Tyrone.

Detectives from the PSNI’s terrorism investigation unit arrested the 38-year-old in Strabane under the Terrorism Act.

He is being detained at the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave Police Station, and a search has been carried out in the Coalisland area.

The four men who had been arrested earlier have since been released.

The men – aged 38, 36, 36 and 28 – were arrested under the Terrorism Act after police conducted a number of searches in Strabane on Friday and Saturday.

They were questioned by detectives at the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave Police Station in Belfast.

The two officers had been on patrol on Thursday at Mount Carmel Heights when a bomb was detonated at the side of their vehicle, prompting police to pursue a “strong line of inquiry” into whether the New IRA were involved.

PSNI assistant chief constable Bobby Singleton said the location of the incident in Strabane and previous attacks made the involvement of the dissident republican splinter group a possibility.

Neither officer was injured in the attack, which caused a major security alert in the area, affecting more than 1,000 residents and leaving some children unable to get to school on Friday.

“The investigation continues,” Police Derry City and Strabane tweeted early on Monday in confirming the men’s release.

Political leaders in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland condemned the attack.