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| Gunmen 'were among town rioters' | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Rioters who hijacked at least five vehicles in Lurgan, County Armagh, were "a disgrace to Northern Ireland", the police have said. | |
| Two vans set alight and abandoned on a railway track have been removed. | |
| Trouble is thought to have been sparked by the jailing of three men from the town over a dissident republican plot to kill police with a mortar bomb. | Trouble is thought to have been sparked by the jailing of three men from the town over a dissident republican plot to kill police with a mortar bomb. |
| Chief Inspector Jason Murphy said police had received numerous reports of armed men in the area. | |
| "While there are no reports of any shots being fired, this is not acceptable behaviour for our streets and robust action will be taken," he said. | |
| He said there were no reports of petrol bombs being thrown and no-one was injured. | |
| "This was clearly an attempt to draw my officers into the situation to escalate the violence and to cause serious disruption or injury," he added. | |
| Dissident mortar bomb gang jailed | |
| Two vans were hijacked on Thursday night in the Kilwilkie estate, while an articulated lorry was also set on fire in the nearby Tullygally estate. | |
| SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said said disturbances had been anticipated following the sentencing of the three dissident republicans but police faced a difficult job in these situations. | |
| "I spoke to the police on Tuesday and they had additional resources in the town and were well-prepared for all eventualities," she said. | "I spoke to the police on Tuesday and they had additional resources in the town and were well-prepared for all eventualities," she said. |
| "The trap is of course to draw the police down into the area where there are hijacked vehicles." | "The trap is of course to draw the police down into the area where there are hijacked vehicles." |
| Ms Kelly said those behind the trouble were "a very small minority of people dragging the whole community down". | Ms Kelly said those behind the trouble were "a very small minority of people dragging the whole community down". |
| Disruption | |
| Public transport company Translink said rail services were disrupted between Lisburn and Portadown and a bus substitution service is in place. | |
| Lake Street, near the railway crossing where the vans were abandoned, remained closed on Friday morning. | Lake Street, near the railway crossing where the vans were abandoned, remained closed on Friday morning. |
| The trouble came after three Lurgan men were each jailed for 15 years for plotting to kill police officers with a mortar bomb. | The trouble came after three Lurgan men were each jailed for 15 years for plotting to kill police officers with a mortar bomb. |
| Damien McKenna, 26, of Deans Walk, Gary Toman, 24, of Drumnahoe Avenue and Sean McConville, 23, of Kilwilkie Road, pleaded guilty. | Damien McKenna, 26, of Deans Walk, Gary Toman, 24, of Drumnahoe Avenue and Sean McConville, 23, of Kilwilkie Road, pleaded guilty. |
| A live mortar, complete with launching tube, was found near the Cornakinnegar Road in April 2007. | A live mortar, complete with launching tube, was found near the Cornakinnegar Road in April 2007. |
| The police said they believed the men were members of the dissident republican Continuity IRA. | The police said they believed the men were members of the dissident republican Continuity IRA. |