A major ground and air security operation across Derry’s west bank was linked to dissident republican violence, police have said.
Wednesday evening’s exercise, one of the biggest in the city in recent years, followed three paramilitary-style attacks within a week.
Police set up checkpoints on all main border roads into Derry between 7pm and 10pm while air reconnaissance was provided across the city by a PSNI helicopter.
It followed the shooting of two men in their 30s in the Galliagh area last Wednesday and Monday.
Both men were shot in the legs, with one suffering what police described as “life-changing” injuries.
In a separate attack last Thursday night, a Derry mother was beaten with a hammer at her home in Galliagh’s Bloomfield Park.
She told The Irish News she believed the masked gang were seeking a man who had earlier come to her home.
Senior Derry PSNI officer Jonathan Hunter said: “As part of ongoing efforts to counter the ongoing threats from violent dissident republicans, there have been increased police operations across the city led by neighbourhood officers, working with other policing departments.”
In a separate development, two men aged 44 and 47 who were arrested in Derry on Wednesday were yesterday released following questioning.
A police spokesman said the men – believed to be from Derry’s Creggan area – were arrested by the PSNI’s Terrorism Investigation Unit as part of its investigation into dissident republican activity.
