A bomb attack on the car of an off-duty police officer in Castlederg on Monday night has been described as "cowardly and despicable" by local politicians.
The PSNI officer, believed to be a Catholic man form Omagh, sustained serious injuries to his legs after a device exploded under the car he was driving on the Drumnabey Road at Spamount, outside Castlederg.
He was travelling to Enniskillen PSNI S
tation to begin a night shift when the device exploded.
A passerby came to his aid and dragged the off-duty policeman from the burning car.
The attack has been blamed on dissident republicans and comes just a week after the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission said dissident republicans continued to be active in the North West and were involved in targetting members of the security forces.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness condemned the car bomb attack and encouraged anyone with information on the incident to go to the police. "The elements within our society who perpetrated this act have nothing to offer, they are without mandate or strategy and represent no-one.
"I would encourage anyone with any knowledge regarding this attack to contact the police immediately and assist them fully in their inquiries. I would also like to commend the selfless actions of the passerby, whose quick thinking saved this police officer's life," he said.
Mr McGuinness slammed the attack coming on the day of the funeral of veteran Strabane Sinn Fein Councillor, Ivan Barr, a "visionary republican" who had fully embraced the peace process.
Sinn Féin West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty also expressed his anger.
"I utterly condemn this attack. It is wrong and such attacks serve no useful purpose. Politics on the island of Ireland have changed absolutely and irreversibly. No single attack or incident such as this is going to drag us backwards," he warned.
Foyle MP Mark Durkan said those behind the bombing had no agenda and no future. "This attack was a cowardly and despicable attempt to intimidate police officers from carrying out their duties to the community. They are also an attempt to intimidate the wider public. These efforts will not succeed. The community is determined in its view that the PSNI is an acceptable and accountable police service – two things which these so called 'republicans' are not," he said.
