DETECTIVES have launched an investigation after a man was been shot in the legs in west Belfast.

Police said it happened at around 8.30 om near the jobs and benefits office on the Falls Road.

The victim was taken to the nearby Royal Hospital in Belfast for treatment.

Police are currently at the scene and an investigation is ongoing.

Crime scene investigators have been carrying out a detailed search in the area for clues to the dissident republican gunmen who carried out the attack.