BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Police searching a Northern Irish village after a caller warned of a bomb found a 300-pound explosive device in a car, officials said Saturday.
The bomb is believed to have been planted by dissident Irish Republicans, The Times of London reported. The telephone call said that the explosive was originally intended for a British Army base near Castlewellan in County Down.
Greg Blain, a superintendent with the Northern Irish police, said that the bomb was near a school in Castlewellan. The village is about 30 miles south of Belfast and 20 miles from the border with the Irish Republic.
"The people who carried this out showed a callous disregard for the lives of everyone in our community," he said.
Investigators believe that the bomb was planted by the Real IRA, one of the splinter groups opposing the peace process in Northern Ireland.
Police discovered the bomb on Tuesday but disposal took several days. The area was also searched to make sure no other explosives had been planted.
