The perpetrators of this vicious explosion do not belong in any right-thinking society, they belong in the past

Northern Ireland secretary John Reid

Army bomb disposal experts were called to the scene.

The Newtownhamilton Road and the Keady Road were closed at Armagh, but re-opened later on Saturday evening.

Police Service of Northern Ireland inspector Jim Fulton branded the attack "reckless and indiscriminate".

Northern Ireland secretary John Reid described those responsible for the explosion as the "lowest of the low".

These people have nothing to offer, they have no strategy, no policies and no support

Local Sinn Fein member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Conor Murphy

Speaking in Galway, he called them "cowards" who had stooped to a new low.

"The perpetrators of this vicious explosion do not belong in any right-thinking society, they belong in the past," Mr Reid concluded.

Sinn Fein member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Conor Murphy, called on dissident republican paramilitaries to "disband at once".

"These people have nothing to offer, they have no strategy, no policies and no support," he said.