Loyalist militants likely behind Belfast hijacking, police say

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Pro-British loyalist militant groups were likely behind the hijacking and placing of a suspect device in a van that was ordered to drive to an event where Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney was speaking on Friday, police said.

The device placed by the two gunmen was declared a hoax but was clearly designed to cause maximum disruption, Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan told a news conference, adding that he would not speculate on the motivation of the crime.

“The victim believed he was driving a van with a live bomb and that his family were being threatened. … At this early stage of the investigation our assessment is that these crimes were carried out by loyalist paramilitary groups,” McEwan said.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Leslie Adler)