Political solutions urged after blast in Northern Ireland

Police officers in Northern Ireland are bracing for a possible flare-up of sectarian violence and attacks aimed at law enforcement officials after a bomb blast on Monday came close to claiming lives.

Stephen Martin, deputy chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said the explosion in the county of Fermanagh was a "reckless and indiscriminate" attempt to kill police officers and he called on politicians to resolve issues that may have led to a recent upsurge in violence.

"We need, as a society led by our politicians, to absolutely set out not just our condemnation to these people but to work collectively together," he said. "Police play their part, but police on their own are not sufficient to say 'you do not represent the society we want to live in'. We want to reclaim the prosperity we felt a few years ago.