'Wrong house' targetted in Dublin bomb attack

Gardaí are satisfied that a house that was attacked with an explosive device near Dublin's Francis Street last night was not the intended target.

A couple and five children escaped unharmed when a pipe bomb blew in the windows of their home in the city.

Gardaí were first called to a house in Spitalfields, off Francis Street, shortly after 11 pm yesterday where they discovered the back windows of the house had been blown in.

The house was occupied by two adults and five children, aged from two to 10 years. A number of the houses in the area were evacuated and the scene was cordoned off.

A garda source told The Irish Times that the house was not the intended target.

An army disposal unit was called to the scene, and confirmed the damage was caused by a pipe bomb. The area was declared safe at 12.45 am.

In a separate incident, a petrol bomb was thrown through the front door of an unoccupied house in Tymon North Place, Tallaght, at around 12.30am.

"The front door has been smashed and the living room caught fire," the garda spokesman said. "The fire as brought under control fairly quickly by the fire brigade and no one was injured."

Several properties in the estate were evacuated. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.