A chief constable has warned of a surge in dissident republican activity after a bomb partially exploded under a shopping centre.
A driver was forced to take to 130lb of home-made explosives into Belfast's main commercial hub in the run-up to Christmas.
The detonator exploded but failed to trigger the rest of the device in a car park under the Victoria Square shopping centre.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Matt Baggott said: "The philosophy of these groups is simply hatred."
The bomb was in a barrel or keg in the back of a silver Renault Laguna.
The driver was stopped in the republican Ardoyne district by three masked men wearing boilersuits who ordered him to take the car to the car park. After abandoning the vehicle, he ran across the street to the nearby Musgrave Street police station and raised the alarm.
The Laganside court complex and dozens of shops and offices are situated nearby. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from restaurants and a cinema as army bomb disposal experts were called in. The detonator went off as they prepared to examine the car.
The chief constable added: "There has been a surge recently in dissident republican activity. "These groupings are trying to bring themselves to notice again. They seem to be in some form of bizarre competition to make sure that they have a profile."
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness condemned those responsible and told the BBC they did not have the right to engage in that kind of behaviour.
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