Car bomb explodes outside shopping centre in Derry, NI

"Shortly after midnight a device in a Corsa car exploded outside a bank at the rear of the DaVinci retail complex," a spokesman from the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

"A warning had been received just over an hour earlier and a cordon was in place.

"Initial inquiries suggest there were no injuries. Substantial damage has been caused to the retail complex and to the car."

Evacuations had been carried out in the surrounding area from dozens of houses and a number of businesses, the spokesman said.

Dozens of homes and businesses, including a nursing home, were evacuated.

The blast will evoke memories of darker times in Derry, which witnessed much bloodshed and suffering during the Troubles.

It was the scene of Bloody Sunday, one of the province's darkest episodes in which 13 civilians were killed by troops when they opened fire on a civil rights march in 1972.

The most recent blast follows a spate of attacks several weeks ago which targeted army or police workers.

Republic groups were blamed for a series of car bombings or attempted car bombings in August which targeted an army major, a policewoman and a civilian police worker.

Authorities said three children had a miraculous escape when they sustained only minor injuries when a bomb exploded in a bin in Lurgan, County Armagh, in August.

Police said the attack had been an attempt to kill or injure their officers.

Although no one has been killed in the attacks, they have fuelled fears of a descent into further turmoil.