THE PSNI say that a device which exploded in a border town last night was an attempt to kill police officers.
The bomb detonated while were officers were on patrol in Strabane on Tuesday night.
Parts of the town have been cordoned off as a result of the security alert.
There is no access to the town via Liskey Road as a result of the incident.
It was reported the explosion happened at about 8.30 pm after locals reported hearing an “explosion”.
Supt Gordon McCalmont said police officers cheated death in the attack.
“While we are unable to go into specifics of the incident at this stage, I am confident in saying that we are incredibly lucky that the lives of officers and other members of the community were not lost last night,” said Supt McCalmont.
“We appreciate the understanding and patience of local residents while we carry out our enquiries and would appeal for anyone with information about suspicious activity in the area to contact us.”
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan condemned the attack and said the device has been described as “substantial”.
“Such attacks on the PSNI have no place in a modern progressive society,” he said.
“Strabane has come a long way over recent years and the people want no return of the past.”
Earlier, Sinn Féin councillor Karina Carlin said she heard a bang when the device exploded.
“I went to the scene after the noise but I didn’t see anything,” she said.
“The police were trying to get residents out of their homes last night, but I urged them not to because there wasn’t going to be any meaningful searching until this morning.”
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