Pipe bomb explodes outside young family’s home

A pipe bomb has exploded in front of a family home in Mullaghbawn in south County Armagh.

Police said they received a report of a loud explosion outside the house in the Sliabh Mor area at about 00:30 BST on Friday.

The occupants of the property were a young family who were not harmed but were left “shocked and shaken”.

The device has been taken away for further examination and detectives are working to establish a motive.

BBC News NI has been told it could be a case of mistaken identity.

Det Sgt Johnston said there was substantial damage to windows and an outdoor railing.

“Devices of this type can cause damage over a wide area causing destruction far beyond any intended target,” he said.

Newry and Armagh assembly member Justin McNulty said it was a “reckless attack which could have cost lives”.

“Can you imagine waking in the middle of the night to this, with no understanding of what’s going on, with young children?” he said.

McNulty, of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, said he believed the victims had been targeted by mistake.

Councillor Áine Quinn, of Sinn Féin, said the attack was terrifying for the householders and their neighbours.

She said the young family “were subject to a violent attack in their home which is completely unacceptable”.

She added their young children were in bed at the time of the explosion.

Quinn described the attack as “reprehensible” and she urged anyone with information to contact the authorities.