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| Britain |
| Two soldiers killed in gun attack on Antrim Army base in Northern Ireland |
| 2009-03-08 |
| Two men, understood to be soldiers, have been killed after an attack on an Army barracks in Northern Ireland. Four other men were injured in the attack, when shots were fired at the Massereene base in County Antrim, north of Belfast. Two were thought to be military personnel and the others civilians. The attack happened at around 9.20pm Saturday at the barracks, which is home to 38 Engineering Regiment. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence described it as a "drive-by" attack. Reports suggested that at least two gunmen opened fire close to the main gates of the base. The victims were reportedly waiting to take delivery of pizza when they were attacked. A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "We can confirm that an attack has been carried out in Massereene in Antrim at about 9.20pm. "There have been two fatalities. It is understood that those two fatalities are male. It is also understood that a further four males have been brought to hospital and are in a serious condition." Witnesses said there were two long bursts of gunfire. Immediately afterwards, sirens could be heard blaring inside the military barracks, which is located on the edge of the town of Antrim. At least six ambulances and three paramedic vehicles rushed to the scene to take the injured to Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away. The area around the barracks was sealed off and a major security operation was launched. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. One witness who lives near the base told how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks. He added: "Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20. Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances. There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other." The soldiers are the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in 1997. Ian Paisley Jnr, a Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the policing board, said the shooting could be a defining moment in the history of Northern Ireland. He said: "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep." The shooting follows warnings last week by Sir Hugh Orde, Northern Ireland's police chief, that the threat of a serious terror attack in Northern Ireland was higher than at any time since he became chief constable seven years ago. An Army special forces squad is mounting a round-the-clock surveillance operation on dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. The Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which shares headquarters in Hereford with the SAS, is employing communication intercept tactics that have been used on enemy targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sir Hugh said that he had called in the six specialists because the threat of a serious attack was heightened, but insisted the deployment did not signal the return of soldiers to the streets. "I will die in a ditch over that - that is not going to happen," he said. "This is a very small number, a handful of people coming in with technical expertise I don't have, to enhance the frontline capabilities of my officers. The idea that there will be SAS walking around with machine guns, as some people have tried to portray, is rubbish." Republican extremists opposed to the peace process have launched a series of failed murder attempts on police, ranging from shootings to bomb attempts. Last year dissident Republicans tried to kill PSNI officers in separate incidents in Derry City and Dungannon Co Tyrone. Last month, security forces also defused a 300lb bomb in Castlewellan Co Down which may have been intended for an attack on a nearby barracks. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #4 Are we certain which group of religious fanatics are responsible? Real IRA claim responsibility |
| Posted by: tipper 2009-03-08 18:49 |
| #3 Are we certain which group of religious fanatics are responsible? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-03-08 09:56 |
| #2 No, that was Ted Kennedy (got knighted for it) [Announcing the honorary knighthood for Edward Kennedy, Mr Brown said that "Northern Ireland is today at peace, more Americans have healthcare, more children around the world are going to school" because of the long-serving Democratic senator.] |
| Posted by: Mullah Lodabullah 2009-03-08 09:34 |
| #1 But, but, but, I thought George Mitchel brought them Peace. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-08 05:25 |