Police in Northern Ireland have condemned a foiled mortar bomb plot as “absolutely reckless”.

Army bomb disposal experts were called to the Letterkenny Road area of Londonderry after the four live devices were discovered in the back of a van last night and around 100 homes were evacuated.

“These people were absolutely reckless,” said Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin.

“They were prepared to drive a van with four live mortar bombs, ready to go, through a built-up area in Derry city, putting the lives of thousands of people at risk.

“It doesn’t even bear thinking about what we could have been looking at today in terms of the consequences of these devices had they exploded.”

He added: “These people are voices of the past, and there’s no future for them.”

Sky’s Ireland correspondent David Blevins said: “It would appear that police have managed to thwart yet another attempted attack by dissident republicans.”

Three men have been arrested, including two 37-year-olds and a 35-year-old. One was the driver of the van, another was following on a motorbike. The third was arrested elsewhere in Derry.

Blevins added: “The police realised very quickly that they had intercepted the mortars primed for an attack in the vehicle which has a Southern Irish registration number plate.

“The foiled attack bears the stamp of dissident republicans who are opposed to the political settlement in Northern Ireland.

“Until recently, there were three different factions – the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA and Óglaigh na hÉireann (soldiers of Ireland) – but they are reported to have amalgamated into one group calling itself The New IRA.

“The timing of any attack would be significant given that we are just four days away from a Westminster by-election in Northern Ireland in the mid-Ulster constituency – the seat which was formerly held by Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness.

“That indeed may have been why a possible attack was being planned by those opposed to the peace settlement.”

The four contenders for Thursday’s by-election are Sinn Fein Assembly Member Francie Molloy, independent Nigel Lutton, the Social Democratic and Labour Party’s Patsy McGlone and Eric Bullick of the cross-community Alliance Party.

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