Police confirm devices found in Londonderry cemetery were viable pipe bombs

Four devices discovered inside a cemetery in Londonderry where a republican commemoration was staged on Easter Monday were viable pipe bombs, police have said.

A senior officer has said he believes the explosive devices left in the City Cemetery are attributable to the New IRA.

A major security operation took place at the cemetery on Tuesday after the suspicious devices were discovered, leading to the facility being closed to visitors.

There were scenes of violence in the Creggan area of Derry prior to the discovery. A number of missiles, including petrol bombs, were hurled by young people at a police Land Rover monitoring Easter commemoration parades.

Chief Superintendent Nigel Goddard said: "These actions have seen the exploitation of young people in the illegal parade, with a complete disregard for public safety. We believe these would have been used to attack police, and cause injury to our officers."

"Our colleagues from Terrorism Investigation Unit are continuing with their enquiries into this. At this time, the main line of enquiry is these pipe bombs are attributable to the New IRA."

"We urge anyone with information that may assist the investigation to call police or contact Crimestoppers, which can be done anonymously."

The number to call with information is 101, quoting reference number 428 of 11/04/23. Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/