19.11.04
BBC
Fire bombs found in shops
Business owners in Belfast are being urged to remain vigilant after incendiary devices were found at two stores.
Shoppers were evacuated from the Big W store at the Yorkgate shopping complex in north Belfast on Friday morning after the device was found.
Another similar device was found at Marks and Spencer at Donegall Place in the city centre.
The Army removed a number of items from both shops for further examination.
Police said after the alerts had ended that both devices were "viable" and "primed to ignite".
'Be alert'
A police spokeswoman said: "Keyholders are urged to search premises and be alert."
"We would also urge shoppers to be vigilant and report anything suspicious to police," she added.
Friday's evacuations were the latest in a series of bomb alerts across Belfast.
On Thursday, alerts at the Big W store at Yorkgate and Matalan at Boucher Road were both declared to be hoaxes.
The dissident republican Real IRA admitted placing a fire bomb in a wallpaper shop in Belfast city centre on Wednesday.
Army bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion at the shop in North Street.
Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland urged traders to be vigilant and to check premises before and after trading in the run-up to Christmas.
Fire bombs found in shops
Business owners in Belfast are being urged to remain vigilant after incendiary devices were found at two stores.
Shoppers were evacuated from the Big W store at the Yorkgate shopping complex in north Belfast on Friday morning after the device was found.
Another similar device was found at Marks and Spencer at Donegall Place in the city centre.
The Army removed a number of items from both shops for further examination.
Police said after the alerts had ended that both devices were "viable" and "primed to ignite".
'Be alert'
A police spokeswoman said: "Keyholders are urged to search premises and be alert."
"We would also urge shoppers to be vigilant and report anything suspicious to police," she added.
Friday's evacuations were the latest in a series of bomb alerts across Belfast.
On Thursday, alerts at the Big W store at Yorkgate and Matalan at Boucher Road were both declared to be hoaxes.
The dissident republican Real IRA admitted placing a fire bomb in a wallpaper shop in Belfast city centre on Wednesday.
Army bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion at the shop in North Street.
Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland urged traders to be vigilant and to check premises before and after trading in the run-up to Christmas.
