A small bomb exploded in a rubbish bin in the Northern Ireland town of Lurgan on Saturday, causing minor injuries to three children, police said. The explosion took place on a day of heightened tension in Northern Ireland as the Apprentice Boys, a Protestant organisation, staged their annual parade in Londonderry - an event that has triggered Catholic protests in the past.
Police said two 12-year-olds and a two-year-old suffered minor cuts and shock when a bomb went off in the Kilmain Street area of Lurgan. Police had received no warning. Residents were evacuated from several other streets in the same area after police found what they feared was another bomb in a builders' yard. No explosion took place there. A third security alert was underway in the Brownlow area of the town, where more homes were evacuated, police said.
In Londonderry, where 15,000 people were expected to attend the Apprentice Boys' parade, security was high after police were attacked during the night by rioters throwing petrol bombs. No incident was reported at the parade. Northern Ireland was torn apart during three decades of violent "Troubles" between loyalists, mostly Protestants, who want it to remain part of the United Kingdom and Republicans, mostly Catholics, who want it to form part of a united Ireland.
A 1998 peace agreement ended the worst of the Troubles and paved the way for a power-sharing government of loyalists and Republicans. Violence has subsided over the years, but there are still dissident groups who occasionally plant bombs. The Protestant marching season, which takes place every summer, causes sectarian tensions to rise.