Ten injured in Belfast clashes

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Catholic and Protestant gangs clashed in east Belfast on Friday, injuring at least 10 police officers who moved into the area in a bid to separate the factions, police said.

Security forces flooded into the Short Strand area of the capital when the gangs, each around 50-strong, started throwing stones, bricks and ball bearings at each other.

Nine officers were hurt when their Land Rover was hit by a grenade. Another was hit by a brick, the police department said.

This was the latest in a series of clashes in the Catholic area surrounded by Protestant east Belfast.