Jul 26, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Tuesday saw what police have called a wave of intimidation attacks against Catholics in and around Ballymena, a mostly Protestant town northwest of Belfast.
The Associated Press reported that Protestant extremists planted a homemade grenade outside a Catholic family's home in Ballymena. The bomb detonated, causing minor damage. Arsonists badly damaged one Catholic-run pub in the village of Martinstown, and caused minor fire damage to the outside of another pub in nearby Rasharkin with two gasoline-filled bottles. In addition, two Catholic churches in Ballymena were vandalized with paint-filled balloons and painted-on anti-Catholic slogans.
No injuries were reported.
Catholic leaders reportedly appealed to the area's Protestant politicians to do more to stop the extremists.