Small parcel bomb explodes in Northern Ireland

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A parcel bomb exploded in the Royal Mail office in central Belfast on Friday but caused no injuries, police said, the first such incident in more than a year.

Northern Ireland police described the bomb as a "crude device" and declined to say to whom the parcel had been addressed. No arrests have been made.

There was no indication as to whether the bomb was the work of a paramilitary group.

A 1998 peace deal largely ended the violence known as Northern Ireland's "Troubles," which for 30 years set predominantly Catholic groups who wanted a united Ireland against mainly Protestant unionists who favoured continued British sovereignty over the province.

The last high-profile attack was in March 2009 when suspected dissident nationalists killed two British soldiers and a policeman.

Separately, police arrested three suspected dissident nationalists on Friday during a search operation aimed at foiling attacks by groups opposed to the 1998 peace agreement.

Across the border in Ireland, police were still questioning four men after the discovery of a dissident nationalist "bomb factory" in County Kildare earlier in the week.