POLICE HAVE LAUNCHED an attempted murder investigation after a viable pipe bomb was found in the North Queen Street area of North Belfast on Tuesday morning.

Peter Montgomery, Detective Chief Inspector with the PSNI, said officers “examined a suspicious object that was discovered in the area, carried out a controlled explosion, and later declared it to be a viable device which was removed for further forensic examination”.

Montgomery said it is believed the device was “most likely thrown at a police vehicle the evening before”.

“If this is an attack on police officers, we are very lucky that none of my colleagues or members of the public were injured.

This incident also caused massive inconvenience, disruption and upset for the local community of north Belfast and I would like to reiterate our thanks to the members of the public for their patience and cooperation during the operation on Tuesday morning.

Montgomery appealed for anyone with information about the incident to contact detectives at Musgrave Police Station on the non-emergency number 101, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.

“I am appealing for anyone who noticed any activity in the North Queen Street area, close to Spamount Street, between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. I am also interested in speaking to the driver of a white van seen on North Queen Street just before midnight,” he said.

The PSNI said they are due to conduct house-to-house enquiries about the incident “in the near future”.

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