(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121211-belfast-1a.photoblog600.jpg)Cathal Mcnaughton / ReutersA forensic officer works on an unmarked police car in East Belfast Monday, after it was attacked by rioters.By ReutersBELFAST -- Police were attacked in Northern Ireland on Monday night by protesters enraged by a decision to remove the British flag from Belfast City Hall, which has sparked eight consecutive days of demonstrations.
About 15 masked men broke out of a crowd assembled in the predominantly Protestant Newtownards Road area of Belfast, smashed the windows of a police car and threw a Molotov cocktail into it while an officer was still inside, police said.
The officer escaped unharmed but the Police Service of Northern Ireland said they were treating the attack as attempted murder.
The attack was one of a series of protests across the city on Monday during which stones and fireworks were hurled at police, who responded with water cannons in at least two locations.
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