Policing Board members have today praised the undercover officers who foiled dissident republican’s attempts to kill a Catholic police officer in Co Fermanagh at the weekend.

It comes as the PSNI continue to question four men arrested following the exchange of gunfire in the border village of Garrison on Saturday.

A fifth man arrested by Garda in Rossinver, Co Leitrim also remains in custody.

There was traffic chaos in Armagh this morning following the discovery of a suspicious object in the Mall area of the town.

Police have cordoned off an arterial route into the city and diversions are in place.

Garrison: ‘We thwarted a terrorist attack’

A major covert police operation has foiled a dissident plan to murder a newly recruited Catholic PSNI officer in his own home in Fermanagh.

It is understood that a police team had been lying in wait near the scene of the Saturday night attack in the border village of Garrison, suggesting the PSNI had obtained prior intelligence about the dissident threat.

An unmarked police vehicle rammed a car at the scene at 6pm and there was then an exchange of gunfire with at least three shots fired.

Two shots were fired by officers and at least one by the attackers in what police have described as “a planned terrorist attack”.

Five men were last night being questioned over the shoot-out following a cross-border investigation involving the PSNI and Gardai. Security sources said the attack was aimed at killing a Catholic policeman living in the village. It is believed he had recently joined the service.

Although no-one was injured, the incident has been condemned by politicians as “a twisted, evil attempt” to cause violence and mayhem.

A quarter-mile stretch of road between Garrison and Belleek remained sealed off yesterday as officers searched for evidence.

Four men are being detained by the PSNI at the serious crime suite in Antrim, while gardai arrested a fourth man at Rossinver in Co Leitrim. He is being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

At a press conference at Police Headquarters, Chief Constable Matt Baggott said his officers had foiled a terrorist attack.

“We said from day one that tackling terrorism was a major priority and I can confirm that last night we thwarted a terrorist attack,” he said.

“I want to commend the professionalism, the courage and the bravery of my PSNI colleagues in dealing with the incident.”

The MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew, condemned the attack and said it was fortunate no-one had been injured.

“These actions will not advance either republican or democratic objectives and I condemn them,” she said.

“Politics can work and must work in order to deliver for our people. The groups who carry out attacks like last night’s have nothing to offer our community.”

There is a high dissident threat in Co Fermanagh. Earlier this year component parts for a large bomb were found in Rosslea while there was an attempt to murder two police officers in a landmine attack near the village in June 2008.

DUP Assembly member Arlene Foster said: “Ordinary people in Fermanagh, in common with everyone else in Northern Ireland, are repulsed by these criminal thugs and their twisted, evil attempts to drag us back in to violence and mayhem.”

Belfast: ‘we’ve been lucky so far’

A number of businesses were expected to be disrupted throughout the day as the police step up their security operation at Clarendon Dock.

Most of the dock was cordoned off yesterday after a major investigation was launched following the discovery of a 400lb bomb at the Policing Board headquarters on Saturday night.

Though the cordons have been reduced to an area surrounding the Policing Board’s building, many employees will not be able to access their offices until at least lunchtime today when police have finished their investigation and confirmed the area is secure.

Policing Board member Jimmy Spratt said Saturday night’s attempt to blow up the headquarters in Belfast marks an escalation in the dissident republican campaign of terror and said it is only a matter of time before dissidents kill again.

“I think everyone should be concerned. I think we have just been very lucky so far. They only need to get lucky once, but we need to be lucky every time. I really believe it is only a matter of time before someone is killed,” said Mr Spratt.

No warning was given before a car containing the bomb was left outside the headquarters at Clarendon Dock on Saturday evening.

Shortly after 7.10pm, the car crashed through the barriers of the headquarters and two men were seen running from the area before making off in another car. There was a small explosion from within the car 30 minutes later when the detonator went off, just as police were evacuating the area.

Police said, had the device functioned as the terrorists planned there would certainly have been “widespread damage and destruction and serious injury and loss of lives”.

PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said: “This is an obvious attempt to derail the peace process. We have said from day one that the terrorist situation is severe. We have substantial resources being put into investigating and thwarting these attacks.”

Northern Ireland Security Minister Paul Goggins said those responsible are trying to undermine the progress that has been made in Northern Ireland in recent years.

“When attacks like these happen it brings people together with the strong message that these dissidents will not succeed. They are a small minority, they are reckless and criminally intent. Policing will continue in Northern Ireland and progress will continue.”

Barry Gilligan, Policing Board chairman, said: “This attack last night was an attack upon the entire community, not only the 19 members of the Board but also the staff who work in that building, who are working on behalf of the community in holding the Chief Constable to account.”

Access for vehicles and pedestrians to the Policing Board and Regus buildings will not be available throughout most of the day. Keyholders are being contacted by police and can check with police for the latest update. Employees should liaise with their employer directly. Access to Clarendon Road via Corry Link will be disrupted.

Dissidents’ escalating campaign

MARCH 2009

Two soldiers, Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey, were shot dead in Antrim. The Real IRA were blamed for this attack. Within 48 hours a policeman, Stephen Carroll, was shot dead in Craigavon

APRIL

The Real IRA in Londonderry said it shot a convicted rapist in the legs.

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said dissident republicans had threatened to kill him

MAY

Dissident republicans were suspected of involvement in a petrol bomb attack on the Derry home of senior Sinn Fein member Mitchel McLaughlin

JUNE

Sinn Fein MP Conor Murphy blamed dissident republicans for an arson attack on his home in south Armagh

JULY

The Real IRA is blamed for orchestrating rioting in north Belfast. At least one shot was fired at police and two blast bombs were thrown.

Dissident republican protesters disrupted a meeting of the District Policing Partnership in Derry

AUGUST

A group of armed and masked men, believed to be from a faction of the Real IRA, set up a roadblock in the south Armagh village of Meigh

SEPTEMBER

A huge bomb is discovered on the Irish border. The device made of fertiliser-based homemade explosives, was defused by army bomb disposal experts near Forkhill in South Armagh

OCTOBER

The partner of a police officer escapes serious injury after a device is left under her car.

An improvised device is thrown at a Territorial Army base in north Belfast. Police say it could have killed

NOVEMBER

A live device, a vertical mortar bomb with a command wire, is found in Armagh city