British army experts have dismantled an enormous bomb on the border between Northern Ireland and Eire. The police chief in Armagh in Northern Ireland says the device would have had a devastating effect had it gone off.

It is thought the roadside bomb, comprising 270 kilogrammes of high explosives, was planted by a Republican splinter group and was targetted against Northern Irish police. Six months ago, Republican extremists shot two British soldiers and a police officer dead.

Northern Ireland has been relatively peaceful over the last decade as a result of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

photo: Police in Northern Ireland (ANP)