Bus hijacked and set on fire in Co Antrim last Friday night

DETECTIVES investigating recent violence on the streets of Northern Ireland have arrested six men.

They were detained during early morning raids on addresses in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus and Greenisland.

The suspects are aged between 18 and 49.

They are currenty in police custody being questioned .

Last Friday and Saturday seen some of the some street rioting since the Union flag protest started on December 3.

The worst scenes were near Rathcoole and Carrickfergus where police came under sustained attack from petrol bombs, stones, bricks, bottles, missiles and fireworks.

A specialist team of detectives has been set up to study CCTV stills and footage from a ‘heli teli’ camera to identify those involved in the violence.