Belfast: A large haul of guns and ammunition has been found close to a popular spot for walkers and day trippers on the outskirts of east Belfast.
The weapons were found on Saturday morning after a security operation which began at teatime on Friday in the Manse Road area of Castlereagh.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has closed off Glencregagh Road and Rocky Road as the operation continues. A PSNI spokesman said the guns and munitions had been taken away for forensic examination.
The find is close to loyalist east Belfast and it is likely the weaponry belongs to the Ulster Volunteer Force, the terror group which is still active in orchestrating street violence connected to the flag protests and the banning of contentious Orange marches through the summer.
The PSNI also had to deal overnight with a bomb alert in the County Antrim village of Rasharkin. Army bomb disposal experts were called in to deal with the device.
A PSNI spokesman said a pipe bomb was found in the village after what he described as a “pro-active operation.”
Police in Belfast are on high alert in preparation for the final weekend of the marching season. Republican dissidents are staging a commemorative rally in north Belfast on Sunday afternoon while loyalists are holding a counter-demonstration against the parade in nearby Carlisle Circus and the Lower Shankill estate.