By Our Foreign Desk

DETECTIVES are investigating whether a bomb found on a Belfast street and kicked by a child fell off the car of a member of the military.

Police believe the viable explosive device discovered in Linden Gardens, off the republican Cliftonville Road, became detached from the underside of a car.

Sinn Fein North Belfast Assembly Member Gerry Kelly said a young boy had kicked the bomb down the street without knowing what it was.

“We could be dealing with a child being killed here,” he said.

Specialist soliders carried out a controlled explosion on the device and it has been taken away for further forensic examination.

It is understood one line of enquiry is whether it was placed under the vehicle of a member of the armed forces who was visiting the area.

Officers have appealed for anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

Democratic Unionist Party deputy leader and North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds described the bomb attempt as “outrageous.”

He said: “Those responsible have shown their total disregard for the consequences of their evil actions, not just for their intended victim but for any passing member of the public who could have been maimed or killed.”

SDLP Councillor Nichola Mallon added: “Once again north Belfast residents have been forced from their homes by those with no regard for life.”