Assault rifle found in Strabane '˜was for attack on police'

Superintendent Mark McEwan said the Armalite-type weapon had been intended for an attack on officers.

The gun was found with ammunition during a security alert at Lismourne Place on Friday as part of an investigation into new IRA activity.

Mr McEwan said: “We believe this was brought into the area in an attempt to carry out an attack on police. That would have been an attempt to kill police officers, but the calibre of this weapon is such that it is capable of penetrating walls, so any type of attack carried out using this weapon is totally regardless of the safety of the community. People in their own homes would not have been safe if this weapon was fired in a built-up area.”

The new IRA is believed to have been formed in 2012 from an amalgamation of previously separate dissident republican organisations.

UUP MLA Ross Hussey said the discovery “raises further doubts about the IRA decommissioning process”.