RUC in Belfast seize pipebombs

A stockpile of pipe bombs was seized by the security forces in a loyalist area of Belfast last night

A stockpile of pipe bombs was seized by the security forces in a loyalist area of Belfast last night. They were discovered in a derelict house at Rockville Street in the Donegall Road area of the city, the RUC said.

Several families were evacuated from their homes nearby while a British army bomb disposal expert made the devices safe.

Police said the bombs were "crude but effective". There were no arrests.

In the nearby Donegall Pass area a 19-year-old man was shot in both legs in what police said appeared to be a paramilitary style shooting.

Meanwhile, at Ballymoney, Co Antrim, a load of detonators belonging to Northern Ireland Railways was stolen along with cash during a robbery.

The RUC warned that the detonators were "extremely dangerous" and could injure or kill in the wrong hands.

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