Northern Ireland’s justice minister David Ford has condemned the orchestrators of a “cynical” bombing plot in Co Armagh.

Mr Ford praised officers involved in the Lurgan bombing incident and said “very good policing prevented the loss of life”.

He also said the bombers “showed absolutely no regard for local residents, who could have been killed or injured”.

A statement from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) says they believe police were intentionally lured to the area in Lurgan where an improvised explosive device had been planted.

Police attended the scene after the Samaritans received a phone call on Sunday morning that said a device aimed at an early morning police patrol had failed to detonate.

The area was evacuated ahead of a subsequent search, which turned up a suspicious object which police now say was not capable of detonating.

However, a second viable device detonated during the search.

In a statement released yesterday, superintendent David Moore said: “The viable device that detonated during today’s operation was significant and absolutely designed to kill.”

He added: “It is my belief that the phone call and the first device were designed to lure police into the area to be targeted by the second device. This was a clear and unequivocal murder attempt on the policemen and women who serve the community in Lurgan.

“The professional, methodical and diligent way these same officers responded to this incident undoubtedly saved lives, their own and potentially those of local people who were placed in grave danger by the heinous criminals who planted this device.”