The British army bomb disposal unit has been with dealing three separate incidents in the North this morning.
A security alert is currently in operation on the Upper Newtownards Road in Belfast. A suspect package was discovered outside a newsagents and is currently being examined by the RUC bomb squad. A second alert on the Crumlin Road in the city has been declared a hoax.
Meanwhile, a pipe-bomb was made safe earlier this morning in Co Antrim. The area around William Street in Ballymena, Co Antrim, was evacuated following attack on the Slemish bar at around 11 p.m. last night. The RUC say they are treating the incident as sectarian.
It follows Monday's visit to Larne - 15 miles east of Ballymena - by the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson, who visited the town in response to the growing level of sectarian attacks on the homes of Catholic families. He also discussed the matter with the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
The discussions were organised because, according to RUC figures, 78 Catholic families in the town were targeted last year and there were two pipe bomb attacks on homes last week.
The RUC returned to the scene of last week's pipe-bomb attack at The Robbins in Larne last night. They stopped motorists and pedestrians in the area in an effort to obtain further information about the attack.