Police in Northern Ireland reported a suspected car bombing in the city of Londonderry on Saturday, a rare occurrence in the previously contentious region. Some sporadic violence continues among small, splinter groups but car bombings are rare. Local politicians said the bomb caused no apparent injuries, but people were urged to stay away from the area. A journalist from the Irish edition of the Sunday Times newspaper reported that the attack was carried out by the New IRA, a militant group opposed to the 1998 peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence in the British-run province. Some 3,600 people were killed in the conflict before the peace deal was reached. Two local politicians said the suspected blast occurred outside the city’s courthouse. “This pointless act of terror must be condemned in the strongest terms. Grateful to our emergency services for their swift actions which helped ensure there have been no fatalities or injuries,” Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster said on Twitter. The bombing comes as police on both sides of the now-open border between Northern Ireland and European Union-member Ireland have expressed fears that a return to a hard border after Brexit, complete with customs and other checks, could be a target for militant groups. Britain is due to leave the bloc in less than 10 weeks, with the future of the border at the center of its difficulties to strike an amicable deal.
