POLICE have evacuated a number of homes following a ‘bomb alert’ at a police station in Derry.
The PSNI say say a “suspicious object” had been found outside Strand Road police station.
A hijacked vehicle was abandoned near the heavily fortified station around 11 pm on Thursday night.
DUP MLA Gary Middleton said a “suspicious device” had been left inside the hijacked vehicle.
He described the incident as a “terrorist act”.
Dissident republicans are being blamed for the alert.
The Foyle MLA told Radio Foyle: “It is very unfortunate that it happened on a night when the Christmas lights were switched on in the city, when there were lots of people out enjoying themselve.
“When we see these types of acts, the fingers tend to be pointed at dissident republicans but, again, we’re unsure as to the nature of this security alert.
“We do know that a vehicle has been hijacked but we’re not too certain as to how serious the device is,” Mr Middleton added.
As a result of the alert, Strand Road is closed at its junctions with Boating Club Lane and Clarendon Street.
Queen Street has also been closed between Clarendon Street and Asylum Road.
Traffic diversions are in place.
Motorists are asked to avoid the area and seek an alternative route.
The security operation to clear the device is expected to last several hours.
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