Three injured in N. Ireland explosion

BELFAST, N.Ireland -- Three people have been injured in an explosion in the coastal town of Bangor, near Belfast.

The men were travelling in a blue van when it exploded in the town's High Street.

All three were taken to hospital but there are no details of the injuries they sustained. Before the explosion the men had been working at a nearby cafe.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary said the explosion happened in Bangor High Street at around 10.30am (0930 GMT).

The van exploded just hours after a bomb detonated in west Belfast, causing substantial damage to a Protestant centre but no injuries.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Ulster Constabulary said the device exploded about 2 a.m. (0100 GMT), damaging the offices of the Loyalist Prisoners' Aid in the Shankill Road, a Protestant enclave.

The office provides aid to members of the pro-British Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

The spokeswoman said the scene had been declared safe but was being cordoned off.

Witnesses said the explosion appeared to have been very large and would almost certainly have caused loss of life if people had been in the building.

The Shankill Road has been at the centre of fighting between pro-British loyalist factions. with Protestant paramilitary groups waging a vicious internal feud that has killed three men in the past month.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Northern Ireland Office
Ulster Democratic Party

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