A suspect device exploded in a Derry hotel while specialist officers were working to defuse it, police said.
*Northern Ireland's new chief constable in-waiting has vowed to bring to justice the dissident republicans behind a fire bomb attack on a Londonderry hotel.
George Hamilton, who was yesterday appointed to succeed Matt Baggott in the high profile role, said those who abandoned the incendiary at the Everglades hotel late last night had no regard for Northern Ireland or its citizens.
Mr Hamilton, a current assistant chief constable with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), would have been under no illusions about the task facing him in the region's top policing job, but the latest violent action by extremists opposed to the peace process provided another stark reminder.
"I think the fact it has happened indicates some of the challenges that face us," the long-serving officer said in his first public appearance since landing the promotion.
"These are people who are opposed to peace, they are people who are trying to use violence, who are damaging the economic well-being of the country, who are taking jobs off people and they don't actually care about this place or about the citizens of it - I do, deeply.
"We will be doing everything in our power possible to prevent occurrences like that and when they do occur we will be doing everything possible to bring those responsible to justice."
The fire bomb extensively damaged the reception area of the hotel, which is in the Prehen area of Derry.
A holdhall containing the device was left at the reception by a masked man claiming to be from the IRA - the name a number of dissident factions claim as their own. He told staff they had 40 minutes to evacuate the building.
It detonated a short time later as Army bomb disposal officers were urgently working to make it safe. No-one was injured in the explosion.
The police have hailed the efforts of staff and PSNI officers on the scene for evacuating guests before the bomb ignited.
A PSNI spokeswoman said: "Their actions have undoubtedly helped to prevent a tragedy."
Foyle MP Mark Durkan said those responsible were trying to drag the city backwards.
"People of Derry won't see this as an attack against a particular site but, in fact, an attack against the whole city," he said.
"So many people are working hard to move the city forward, but those behind this device are trying to drag us all back to worse times. Such methods demonstrate only a negative, violent capacity, not a viable strategy or credible rationale.
"The nature of the device, and the manner of this reckless attack, show that they are a threat to anyone and everyone. That is why we must be united and strong in rejecting their ways, and affirming peace and progress as our chosen determined collective right."
A device packed into a holdall bag started a fire after it was thrown into the reception of the luxury Everglades Hotel in Londonderry. Staff managed to evacuate the hotel before the device exploded "undoubtedly preventing a tragedy", police said.
The bomb exploded while bomb disposal experts were trying to defuse it. It was the first attack in Northern Ireland since the bombing of a shopping mall in November and there was no immediate claim of responsibility or explanation of why the hotel was targeted.
(Reporting by Ian Graham; Editing by Padraic Halpin and Louise Ireland)
-------------The reception area of the Everglades Hotel in Prehen Road was severely damaged by fire.
However, there are no reports of injuries, a spokeswoman said.
A masked man was seen throwing the device inside the hotel at around 11.15 pm last night.
The PSNI responded along with Ammunition Technical Officers (ATO) and the fire and rescue service.
A police spokeswoman said that while the ATO officers were working to make the device safe, there was an explosion that caused a fire.
She praised "the swift actions of hotel staff and responding police officers in ensuring all guests were quickly evacuated".
"Their actions have undoubtedly helped to prevent a tragedy," she added.
Hotel guests were transported to other hotels in the city.
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