Roundup: Man injured in bomb attack in Northern Ireland, police warn of "dissident republican" threat

Police in Northern Ireland on Friday warned of threat from "dissident republican groupings" after a prison officer was injured in a vehicle explosion in east Belfast.

The 52-year-old serving prison officer was injured after a device exploded under his van in Hillsborough Drive in Belfast at around 7.10 a.m. local time on Friday morning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed.

The prison officer had traveled a short distance from his home when the explosion occurred. He was then taken to hospital and underwent some surgery, according to the PSNI.

"The people behind this despicable act wanted to kill this man. This is a 52-year-old man, married with grown up daughters," said Stephen Martin, assistant chief constable of the PSNI.

He hinted that dissident republicans might be behind the blast in the run-up to the centenary of the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection launched by Irish republicans in 1916 to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic.

Martin stressed that the threat in Northern Ireland remains severe, meaning an attack is "highly possible."

"In the run-up to Easter, our security presence may increase. We recognize that the centenary is an important part of the calendar and we are working with organizers to make sure events pass off peacefully," he said.

"We will be culturally sensitive in our policing approach however we must be mindful that there are people within dissident republican groupings who want to mark this anniversary in an entirely more sinister way; their aim is to kill," he warned.

He also urged the public to be "vigilant" and report "anything suspicious" to the police.

Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland's first minister, condemned the blast as a "disgraceful and despicable attack".

"We join all right-thinking people in condemning these cowardly actions. As a prison officer, he is someone who serves and protects our community and we are united in our rejection of this attack," she said in a joint statement with deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers said the attack "was a demonstration of how lethal the terrorist threat continues to be in Northern Ireland."

"Thankfully these incidents happen very rarely but that is only because of the outstanding work of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and their security partners in preventing these attacks from happening most of the time," she noted. Endit