Security high after police station bomb threat
A major security operation continued in Belfast today after dissident republicans threatened to bomb a police station.
As crucial political talks were getting under way at Leeds Castle in Kent, extra police were on the streets of the city.
Vehicle checkpoints were set up on major roads after a caller claiming to be from the Continuity IRA telephoned a Belfast newsroom, stating that a large bomb was being moved in the city.
The target was said to be an unidentified police station.
A British army bomb disposal expert this morning set off a series of controlled explosions on a suspect car in north Belfast.
It followed what proved to be a hoax call about a bomb in an abandoned vehicle in the New Lodge Road area, but was a reflection of the heightened security and that police were taking no risks.
Police said the dissident threat was being treated seriously because of the Leeds Castle talks and after a gun attack by the Real IRA last week on Strand Road police station in Derry.
Up to 30 shots were fired at construction workers carrying out maintenance at the station last Thursday.
Police appealed to anyone in the Belfast area to report any suspicious activity.
