An explosive device in a car that detonated outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast was “sent to kill officers”, the chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has said.
Forensic officers were examining the burnt-out vehicle on Sunday morning in a side street beside the PSNI station in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry.
Homes in the area have been evacuated and a cordon is in place.
Policing board chairman Brendan Mullan said the device “was sent to kill officers and cause maximum harm in an attack which was in the heart of a residential area”.
“Those responsible had callous disregard for people living close to the station and who so easily could have been caught up in this explosion,” he said.
“It is a miracle no one was seriously injured and we thank the officers, ATO and emergency services who initially responded, and have been working to ensure everyone’s safety since.
“This is the second incident at a police station in recent weeks which is depressing. The people have spoken when they overwhelmingly endorsed the Good Friday Agreement.
“Such acts of violence have no place in a society committed to peace. We stand united in condemnation of those responsible for this terror, and in voicing support for the work of the officers and staff of the PSNI.”
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said those behind the attack “speak for absolutely no one”.
She posted on social media: “They have no vision, no support, and have nothing to offer our society.
“Our communities deserve peace.
“No-one is going to deny our young people and future generations that.
“We will keep progressing and we will keep moving forward to a better future.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson described the reports as “deeply concerning”.
He said: “If this was another attempt by dissident republicans to intimidate communities and target the police, then it must be met with the full force of the law.”
Robinson added: “Our police officers and the wider public should never have to face this kind of danger.
“Those responsible must be identified and brought before the courts.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the attack “was a cowardly attempt to cause injury and destruction”.
“By targeting a police station in the heart of a residential area, those responsible have shown a total disregard for the lives of local people and for the men and women who work to keep our communities safe,” he said.
“We are resolute in our commitment to peace, and these actions will only strengthen our collective determination.”
UUP leader and former police officer Jon Burrows said the explosion was a “display of cowardly criminality, almost certainly committed by dissident republicans”.
“The PSNI are often the target of these dissident groups, but these groups don’t care who else gets hurt or traumatised,” he said.
“They are desperate, depraved and morally bankrupt gangsters seeking to drag Northern Ireland back to darker days. They will fail, just as their predecessors did.”
In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “Police are currently at the scene of a security alert in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry this morning, Sunday April 26.
“Members of the public are asked to avoid the area. Cordons are in place and an evacuation operation is under way. An update will follow in due course.”
Last month, an explosive device that police described as “crude but viable” was at the centre of an attempted attack on another PSNI station in Northern Ireland.
A delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to transport the device to Lurgan police station in an incident blamed on dissident republicans.
The device did not explode on that occasion.