Police cordoned off the area around the blast A number of people have had to leave their homes after a small explosion in west Belfast.
The blast happened in St James Park off the Donegall Road around 2000 BST. There are no reports of any injuries.
Local people said a device was attached to a gate-post and damaged a van.
When police arrived they discovered a suspious object in nearby La Salle Park. Army technical officers have been called.
Chair of the Lower Falls Residents Association, Robert McClenaghan is at the scene of the explosion.
“It has damaged a works van, so it was powerful enough to blow a hole in the side of the van,” he said.
“Everybody that heard the blast said they hadn’t heard anything of that calibre in a long long time so it seems to have been an explosive as opposed to some sort of firework.”
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