Viable pipe bombs and a timer power unit found in Derry security alert
Three pipe bombs were recovered in the Fahan Street area on Tuesday, March 15.
Police are investigating a possible link to a device recovered last year in Dungiven which they believe was made by the New IRA.
Dissident republicanism remains a threat in the north west but lacks support, Chief Supt Ryan Henderson said.
Speaking on BBC Radio Foyle, Ch Supt Henderson, the Police Derry City and Strabane’s area commander, said the pipe bombs “could have been found by anyone”.
“I think that shows the complete disregard those who made them and that left them have for the people who live in this city and the human cost they could have caused,” he said.
“That they were still viable shows they were lethal.”
The security operation began in Fahan Street on Monday morning around 11 am.
Thirteen households had to be evacuated during the alert which continued into Tuesday.
Viable pipe bomb devices in Derry security alert
On Tuesday, police said the timer unit was similar to a device recovered in Dungiven last year, which they believe was made by the New IRA.
Officers are investigating a possible link, Ch Supt Henderson said.
“There are certainly some similarities with that and that is a strong line of inquiry for us,” he said.
He added: “We have had some significant success against dissident republican groups over the past number of years, that has no doubt significantly impacted their capability to cause terror.
The security alert at Fahan Street in Derry which recovered pipe bombs and a timer power unit
Ch Supt Henderson said he believed people in Derry “have no interest in dissident republican activity and no support for it”.
“Events like this show a path they do not want to go back to”.
Ch Supt Henderson said he hoped residents “take some small comfort that we were able to get these devices made safe and off the streets”.
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