BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — British army experts have defused a roadside bomb planted by Irish Republican Army dissidents in Northern Ireland four days after finding it.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland says the bomb was designed to ambush a passing police vehicle at the Wattlebridge crossroads near the County Fermanagh border town of Newtownbutler.

Local police commander Michael Skuce said soldiers and police spent three days searching the area for clues and other bombs before army engineers dismantled the bomb Tuesday using a remote-controlled robot.

IRA dissidents have wounded five police officers in shootings and explosions over the past year. The dissidents oppose the IRA's decision to abandon its 1970-1997 campaign to force Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom.