Bomb alert declared ‘nothing untoward’

A security alert was activated after a suspicious object was discovered at around 8.20pm in Innisfree Gardens in the Fountain Street area just a few hundred metres away from the scene of an attack on two police officers at Mount Carmel Heights on Thursday, November 17.

Police and Ammunition Technical Officers attended the scene following the discovery.

A Police spokesperson said: “The object has been declared as nothing untoward. A number of other items have been taken away for further examination.

“A number of properties were evacuated during the public safety operation, and residents affected have since been able to return to their homes. I want to thank the local community, in particular those who were directly affected, for their cooperation and assistance.

“Cordons have now been lifted, and the Innisfree Gardens area is accessible by road again.”

Sinn Féin MLA Maolíosa McHugh said recent alerts in the Strabane area have caused ‘chaos’.

“Last night saw more disruption for residents of Innisfree Gardens until the early hours of the morning.

“Searches in the area turned into a security alert with two controlled explosions, thankfully leading to nothing untoward being found.

“But the outworking of this has been people forced from their homes again on a cold and wet Monday night. It’s the last thing anybody needs.

“We raised people’s concerns and frustrations directly with the Police area commander yesterday evening and late into the early hours of this morning.

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“Events in recent days, starting with the reprehensible bomb attack in Mount Carmel Heights, have caused chaos in our communities.

“I will be speaking to the PSNI again today to once again raise the concerns and to ensure in future there is no unnecessary disruption to residents,” he said.

The PSNI stated: “Our enquiries are continuing, and we would appeal to anyone who may have any information which could assist us to call the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1874 of 21/11/22, or to submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/."

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