Derry bombs had potential 'to cause mass fatalities'.
The PSNI has confirmed that four live mortar bombs with the potential to cause mass fatalities were discovered in a van in Derry last night.
Up to 100 families were evacuated from their homes in the Brandywell area overnight as a result.
Police are continuing to question three men in their 30s about the incident.
PSNI Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin said officers stopped a white van on the Letterkenny road, close to the Co Donegal border, at approximately 8.15pm last night.
A man in the van was arrested and a man on a motorcycle travelling directly behind the van was also held.
Chief Supt Gargin said: "Police then found a white van with the roof open with four live mortar bombs primed and ready to go in that van.
"We believe that those weapons were destined for a police station somewhere in the Derry area and that they were designed to cause mass casualties or mass fatalities," he added.
Two of the men in custody are aged 37 and the other is 35.
A petrol bomb and missiles were thrown at police as evacuations of over 100 homes were carried out.
PSNI detectives dealing with the incident are linking it to dissident Republican activities.
