Northern Ireland police defuse 2 bombs

Police in Northern Ireland found two explosive devices and made them safe this weekend, they said Sunday.”Both devices had the potential to cause injury and damage. They were left in places used by the public and with no regard for the public. It is thanks to the vigilance of individuals that no serious harm has been done,” Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said Sunday.No warnings were issued, police said.The first explosive — am 88-pound (40 kg) device in a beer keg — was made safe by explosives officers after a member of the public raised the alarm in Lurgan, County Armagh, on Friday, police said.The second device was in the long-stay parking lot at Belfast International Airport.Staff spotted the vehicle, which contained a viable device along with suspected flammable liquid. It was made safe by explosives officers during the early hours of Sunday morning, police said.The vehicle and its contents have been removed for further forensic examination, police said.A spokeswoman added: “The suspicious vehicle does not bear any similarity to the security alerts at other airports in England and elsewhere over the past few days.”McCausland blamed “misguided individuals and groups who seek to drag the country back to mayhem and misery.”Northern Ireland suffered decades of violence between pro-Irish republicans and pro-British unionists, which left about 3,000 people dead.The violence was largely ended by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which set up a power-sharing mechanism and led to local government in the province rather than direct rule from London – Cnn