A bomb concealed in a beer keg and hidden under a hedge along a country road in Northern Ireland
probably sat for three days before it was found, police said.
The bomb was discovered Tuesday in Keady, a village in Armagh near the border with the Irish Republic, the Belfast Telegraph reported. Six families were evacuated and a 5-mile section of Castleblaney Road was closed, until the device was deactivated Thursday.
Investigators said they believe the device was placed Saturday by dissident Republicans who intended to use it to catch police officers in an ambush. They say a fire Sunday may be connected to the bomb.
"This device was designed for one thing and one thing only -- to kill or cause serious injury to police officers," Chief Inspector Ken Mawhinney
said. "The people responsible for planting this device and leaving it on this public road exposed to members of the local community for almost 48
hours showed absolutely no regard for human life. They do not care who they hurt and simply want to drag people back to the dark days of the past."
The bomb is the second this year in Keady. A mortar bomb hidden in a van was left outside the police station in February.