Dissident Real IRA claims responsibility for army attack

[Homer]

Dissident Real IRA claims responsibility for army barracks attack
Sunday, 8 March 2009

The Real IRA has claimed responsibility for a gun attack in Northern Ireland that left two British soldiers dead, according to a newspaper report.

The Sunday Tribune newspaper in Dublin has reportedly been given a recognised codeword during a phone call from the South Antrim Brigade of the Real IRA.

Meanwhile, one of the pizza delivery men wounded in the shooting was named locally as Anthony Watson, 19, who lived in the Antrim area.

His condition in hospital is described as "serious". The condition of the second man, a 32-year-old Pole, is critical. Both worked for Domino's at Church St, Antrim.

A spokesman for the company said: "Our only concern is with the safety of our staff and that they make a full recovery.

"We offer our condolences to the families of the two soldiers who were killed and we will be doing all we can to support our injured team members."

The Real IRA is one of a number of splinter groups that broke away from the Provisional IRA over its decision to end the armed struggle for a united Ireland.

Formed in 1997, it has been responsible for sporadic attacks in Northern Ireland and England but is most notorious for the bombing of Omagh.

No one has ever been brought to justice for what was the bloodiest atrocity in the history of the Troubles. Twenty nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died and hundreds of others were badly injured in the attack in August 1998.

The Omagh families are currently taking civil action against five men they claim were responsible for the attack. All five deny the claims.

One of them is Co Louth republican and Real IRA founder Michael McKevitt, who is currently in jail in the Republic for directing terrorism.

After the Omagh bombing, Real IRA activity decreased but the organisation renewed its campaign at the turn of the century, striking on both sides of the Irish Sea.

In London they hit symbolic targets such as MI6 HQ, BBC broadcasting house and the Hammersmith bridge but failed to take a life.

The group's focus shifted in the last few years with Sinn Fein's decision to support policing in Northern Ireland, and the resultant increase in applications from the Catholic community.

Over the last 18 months the Real IRA, along with the Continuity IRA, has claimed responsibility for a series of failed murder bids against policemen and women. Catholic officers seem to have been their primary target.

Last month the organisation was blamed for abandoning a 300lb car bomb near a primary school in the Co Down village of Castlewellan which was apparently en route to an army base.

[Ronski]

Obama condemns Northern Ireland terror attack

Sunday, 8 March 2009

President Barack Obama's administration in America tonight voiced its condemnation at the killing of two British soldiers in Northern Ireland.

Acting spokesman for Northern Ireland Robert Wood said: "The United States condemns the attack in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, last night that resulted in two deaths and injuries to others.

"Our condolences go out to the families of the slain soldiers.

"We call on all parties in Northern Ireland to unequivocally reject such senseless acts of violence, whose intention is to destroy the peace that so many in Northern Ireland have worked so hard to achieve."

Congressman Peter King, a Republican from New York who has been a longtime supporter of Sinn Fein and the peace process, issued a statement saying: “I strongly condemn this cowardly and deadly attack. It is important that these murderers be brought to justice as quickly as possible.�

In a statement issued from Washington, Irish National Caucus president Sean McManus branded the killings a “terrible development�

According to local media reports, the Real IRA, a dissident republican group, has claimed responsibility for the gun attack outside a British military barracks in County Antrim.

[Ronski]

Trade unions to express their outrage at Northern Ireland shootings

By David Gordon
Monday, 9 March 2009

The trade union movement is planning a public event this week to let people express their outrage at the Massereene murders.

The details are likely to be finalised today, and are expected to include a public gathering in Belfast city centre at lunchtime on Wednesday.

In a statement yesterday, the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions called on all workers to show their disgust at the murder of the two soldiers.

Peter Bunting, assistant general secretary of the ICTU, said: “There is a line which is fine but deep and it separates peace and violence, truth and lies, justice and murder, and civilisation and barbarism.

“The perpetrators of last night’s barbaric act are firmly on the wrong side of that line. All working people must unite to condemn and isolate those whose first resort is indiscriminate savagery.

“The two victims of last night’s murders were servants of the public, as were the pizza delivery people cruelly injured in the attack. Our thoughts are with all of their families on this day.�

[Ronski]

Northern Ireland shootings: 12 years on, two additions to a grim litany of violence

By David Gordon
Monday, 9 March 2009

The two young men shot dead at Massereene barracks on Saturday night were the first British Army soldiers to be killed by terrorists in Northern Ireland in 12 years.

It is also over 11 years since any wing of the security forces suffered a fatality from paramilitary violence in the province.

The last soldier to be murdered in the Troubles was Lance-Bombardier Stephen Restorick, a 23-year-old from Peterborough in England.

He was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Bessbrook, south Armagh, in February 1997.

That was five months before the IRA called a fresh ceasefire and 14 months before the Good Friday Agreement.

Another soldier was also killed by the IRA during the period between its ceasefires.

Warrant officer James Bradwell (43) died from injuries sustained in a bomb attack at Thiepval barracks near Lisburn in October 1996.

The last police officer to be murdered in the Troubles was killed by a loyalist blast bomb.

Constable Frankie O’Reilly (30) suffered fatal injuries in an attack in October 1998.

The blast bomb was thrown during violence following an Orange protest on the Drumcree marching dispute.

[Ronski]

Republican Sinn Fein links soldier murders to 'British occupation

By David Gordon
Monday, 9 March 2009

Republican Sinn Fein has linked the Antrim murders with the continung presence of “British occupation troops� in Ireland.

The dissident organisation’s President, veteran republican Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, also spoke of “hard realities� having to be faced in relation to loss of life.

Mr Ó Brádaigh was a leading figure in Provisional IRA up to the 1980s, when he walked out over the dropping of its abstentionism policy towards the Dail.

He said yesterday: “For more than 20 years Republican Sinn Féin has been warning that the lessons of Irish history have been that as long as the British government and British occupation troops remain in Ireland there will be Irish people to oppose their presence here.�

He also said that it had only been a matter of days since it had been “announced that undercover British troops were being brought back into this country�.

His statement added: “While everyone regretted loss of life, the hard realities of the situation in Ireland must be faced.�

[Ronski]

Town reduced to state of shock after soldier murders

Monday, 9 March 2009

The close-knit Antrim community has been left in shock after the brutal gun attack that left two soldiers dead and four others injured. Lesley-Anne Henry spent yesterday in the town to gauge local opinion following the Real IRA attack

Disbelief, dismay and disgust — heartfelt emotions on messages left at the scene of Saturday’s shooting said it all.

The double murder of two young soldiers and the attempted murder of four others at Massereene Barracks rocked the town of Antrim to its core.

Last night locals, who were still in shock, spoke of revulsion at the gun attack and fear at the bloody reminder of a past they hoped had been left in the behind.

Throughout yesterday, a steady stream of people, including ex-soldiers, community workers, councillors, churchmen and women left floral tributes at the security cordon which had been extended from the barracks’ gate along the Randalstown Road.

One note read: “So sorry, murdered by cowards,� while someone else said: “Our thoughts are with you. Murdered by scumbags.�

“What next? Bombs on trains. Bombs on buses. Where are we? Words cannot express my sorrow and the +sickness I feel. How these people who call themselves human can murder in cold blood innocent people doing a day’s work.�

Another message read: “Sleep tight our young heroes.�

Also among those leaving flowers were a large number of children not old enough to remember, Stephen Restorick, the last soldier to die in Northern Ireland.

One young Dominos workers, who did not want to be identified, said: “I was really shocked and upset last night when we heard the news. The shop had only opened a few months ago and we would deliver to Massereene about eight or nine times on a Saturday night. It is really frightening.�

The teen left a card and flowers which read: “Rest in Peace our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this sad time.�

There was a heavy police presence - with armed officers in bullet proof jackets manning the security cordon and helicopter overhead.

Among the media frenzy that was camped at the police cordon were camera crews from Al Jazeera television and Norwegian newspaper reporters.

Meanwhile community worker Paul McKeown (40) said he hoped the killings would not have a detrimental effect on the good relations within the town.

“It is very sad to see something like this happen. It is a real shock that it has taken place in Antrim. Hopefully they will get the ones that carried it out. This is a very mixed town and it has always been that way. No-one in this community was expecting what happened. The ones that carried it out must be brought to justice.�

Forklift driver Patrick Lavery, (39) from Antrim added: “I just heard about what happened on the news and was totally shocked. I thought we had moved on. Hopefully it won’t destroy the peace process but only time will tell.

“I have a two-year-old daughter and I don’t want her growing up in the same environment that I grew up in - one side hating the other. People seemed to have been getting on with each other really well and hopefully this attack will not put that in jeopardy.�

Meanwhile Tom McAleese (35) travelled from Magherafelt to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.

He said: “I think it is shocking. It’s a real disgrace and I just felt saddened by it. I felt saddened and I just felt that I had to do something to recognise them.�

[Ronski]

Northern Ireland Assembly may hold debate on shootings

By Noel McAdam
Monday, 9 March 2009

The Assembly is today set to unite to condemn the Massereene murders.

First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who have postponed their trade mission to the US which was due to begin today, are expected to make a statement to MLAs.

And, while the Speakers Office has still to give the go-ahead, there could be a debate on the attack.

The DUP leader and Sinn Fein deputy chief separately voiced sympathy to the victims’ families and said the attempt to destabilise the four-party coalition at Stormont would not succeed.

In a statement which took more than 12 hours to emerge, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said the attack was “wrong and counterproductive� but added there are elements within unionism and within the British system that do not want the peace process to achieve its objectives.

He and Mr McGuinness appealed to republicans to hold their nerve and not be deflected from their objectives. Condemnation of the attack was led by Gordon Brown and Ulster Secretary Shaun Woodward, and echoed by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Ulster Unionist Danny Kennedy said his party would be watching closely “and evaluating the reactions of all political leaders and parties to this indefensible act�.

Alliance leader David Ford said it highlighted the real need for an intelligence-based approach to tackling terrorism

[Ronski]

Special forces deployment in Northern Ireland may have sparked assault

By Kim Sengupta
Monday, 9 March 2009


The decision of the Northern Ireland police chief, Sir Hugh Orde, to deploy undercover British special forces against dissident republicans highlighted the controversial and emotive history of the troops during the Troubles.


Nationalists have repeatedly accused the SAS of conducting a dirty war, including assassinations, during the years of violence. Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister and former IRA leader, described the move as "stupid and dangerous". One theory is that Saturday's attack, for which the Real IRA has claimed responsibility, was a response to Sir Hugh's announcement.


The unit deployed, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), was formed four years ago with the specific aim of targeting international terrorism. However, the core membership is drawn from 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment and Signals Regiment and many would have seen previous service in Ulster. Much of the covert-intelligence gathering skills of the SRR have also been honed in the province.


The 400-strong group was the first regiment-sized special forces unit to be formed for nearly 50 years. They have their headquarters, like the SAS, in Hereford and fall under the command of the Director of Special Forces.


Members of the SRR were put on the ground in Northern Ireland after a car bomb weighing 300lb was found at Castlewellan in County Down. Their main function, according to defence sources, was to carry out deep cover surveillance, including electronic eavesdropping, rather than take part in immediate offensive operations. "It wasn't a question of them kicking down doors and shooting people in the middle of the night" insisted a senior officer "but providing some much needed intelligence for the police."


The SRR had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members were on duty in Basra taking part in an operation to rescue special forces soldiers seized by Shia militiamen in September 2005. They have also been involved in the freeing of hostage Norman Kember in March 2006 and the so far unsuccessful attempts to free five Britons who were seized from the Finance Ministry in Baghdad in 2007.


In Afghanistan, troops from the SRR deployed to Helmand and Kandahar and are said to have played a vital role in a series of operations, a so-called decapitation campaign, in which Taliban leaders were killed. The unit's main role on those occasions was to gather information on the movement of the targets.


The SRR was also reported to have been involved in the operation which led to the killing of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes after the 7/7 bombings in London. Members were said to be providing "technical support" for Scotland Yard anti-terrorist officers.

[Ronski]

Gunmen 'fired shots at people on the ground'

By David McKittrick
Monday, 9 March 2009


Northern Ireland is confronting the prospect of further lethal dissident republic violence after two British soldiers were shot dead in an ambush outside an Army base near Belfast.


The two soldiers, the first to die violently in Northern Ireland for more than a decade, were in desert fatigues because they were due to fly to Afghanistan the following morning.

They had come to the gates of their Masserene base in Co Antrim to collect pizza when they were ambushed by terrorists firing automatic rifles.

Four other people were wounded in the attack including a Polish national who is critically ill in hospital. The killers even stood over their victims and fired a second volley.


Last night, a Dublin-based newspaper had a call supposedly from the Real IRA claiming responsibility for the attack, using a recognised codename.


Gordon Brown declared that "no murderer will be able to derail the peace process" but there was anxiety that the killings might generate either political recriminations or retaliation from extreme loyalists. The Prime Minister said: "The whole country is shocked and outraged at the evil and cowardly attacks on soldiers serving their country. We will do everything in our power to make sure that Northern Ireland is safe and secure, and I assure you we will bring these murderers to justice."


Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Fein, said: "I was a member of the IRA, but that war is over now. The people responsible for last night's incident are clearly signalling that they want to resume or restart that war. Well, I deny their right to do that."


Security sources said the planning and execution of the attack showed an increasing sophistication among the dissidents, as well as growing evidence of collusion between republican groups. Monitoring of communications presented a "confusing and complex" picture in which members of the two main groups, Real and Continuity IRA, appeared to be speaking to each other while the groups themselves were split into as many as six sub-groups.


There was also evidence that the dissidents have been acquiring weaponry including semi-automatic rifles, machine-pistols and, mechanisms for detonating pressure-plate explosive devices of the type British forces face in Afghanistan and Iraq. But security sources deny reports that a 300lb car bomb found at Castlewellan, Co Down, had, as it was reported at the time, an advanced anti-handling device.


Though it seems there were no prior indications of the Saturday night attack, security was already unusually high because of an increased threat from a variety of small-scale but lethal republican dissidents opposed to the peace process. This month, the threat level was upgraded from "substantial" to "severe", and sources revealed that MI5 spends 15 per cent of its resources on countering terrorism in Northern Ireland. Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde recently requested support from the Army's Special Reconnaissance Regiment to help with surveillance.


The weekend victims had gone to meet a mobile Domino's Pizza takeaway which had arrived with food for the soldiers. The gunmen obviously knew of the regular routine on Saturday nights when as many as 20 orders of pizza were delivered. They waited until the troops emerged through the gates to pick up the food. The ambushers then stepped forward from the shadows and sprayed bullets with sustained bursts from semi-automatic weapons, hitting four soldiers and two Domino employees.


A senior police officer said: "The gunmen, having fired an initial volley of shots, moved forward when people were on the ground and fired additional shots at those people on the ground, so it was a very, very callous and very ruthless attack."


Maverick republican splinter groups have for some time publicly proclaimed their ambition to kill members of the security forces as part of a strategy to restart the Troubles and return to large-scale conflict. They have injured several police personnel in gun and bomb attacks but security force members have escaped with their lives, sometimes by luck.


Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson said there must not be retaliation for the attack, declaring: "Can I urge all of those who may be angry within the Unionist community; this is a matter to be left entirely with the police and the authorities to deal with."


Frankie Gallagher, a member of a political group which has links with the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association, echoed this, saying: "This cowardly attack has created considerable anger in unionist communities but there must be no retaliatory actions. This situation must be dealt with entirely by the police."


Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness have delayed a planned visit to the US which is due to end with meeting President Barack Obama at the White House.


Sir Hugh Orde added: "This was an act by an increasingly desperate small group of increasingly desperate people who are determined to drag 99 per cent of this community back to where they don't want to go."

[Ronski]

Manhunt begins for 'Real IRA' gunmen

Monday, 9 March 2009

The Real IRA last night claimed responsibility for the execution-style killings of two British soldiers outside their barracks in Antrim.

A huge manhunt was underway for the terrorists, who are believed to be operating from Belfast and Lurgan, Co Armagh.

The savage gun attack came just days after PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde raised the security threat level in the to "severe".

Senior anti-terrorist officers on both sides of the Border said that initial inquiries and intelligence indicated the culprits were members of the Real IRA, which was responsible for the 1998 Omagh bombing.

Their assessment was backed up by a coded call to a newspaper in which the Real IRA claimed responsibility.

The two victims were collecting a pizza delivery at the Massereene base near Antrim when the gunmen pulled up in a vehicle and opened fire.

Four other people, including two pizza delivery men, were wounded in the shooting.

After an initial burst of gunfire, the attackers shot the victims as they lay on the ground. The two soldiers killed were in their 20s and due to fly out for duty in Afghanistan.

Last night, a 'Sunday Tribune' journalist was contacted by someone using a recognised code word, claiming the attack was carried out by the Real IRA.

Journalist Suzanne Breen said a male caller claimed responsibility for the shooting on behalf of the South Antrim brigade. He told her the Real IRA made "no apology for targeting British soldiers" while they remained "occupying the North of Ireland".

Ms Breen said the caller described the pizza staff as "collaborating with British rule".

Security sources said the involvement of the other main renegade republican organisation, the Continuity IRA, could not be ruled out.

One said: "We have to look at both options, but it seems more likely from what we know that the RIRA group, which has become increasingly active in Belfast and Lurgan in recent months, is behind the attack."

Both organisations are reckoned to have a hard core of about 100 activists in Northern Ireland. Their members are much more scattered on the southern side of the Border because of the inroads made by the gardai.

PSNI Chief Superintendent Derek Williamson said: "I have no doubt in my mind this was an attempt at mass murder."

The two young victims were the first British Army soldiers to be killed in 12 years.

The last soldier to be murdered in the Troubles was Lance-Bombardier Stephen Restorick, a 23-year-old from Peterborough in England.

The two latest victims have not yet been named, but were members of the 38 Engineers Regiment. They were dressed in desert fatigues and were due to fly out of RAF Aldergrove, just a few miles away from their base, in the early hours of yesterday.

One army insider said: "Their plane was due to leave at around 1.20am yesterday morning and this was to have been their last pizza for six months.

"They were fully prepared for war and to face the threat of the Taliban in Afghanistan but these soldiers were gunned down in cold blood before they even had the chance to leave their home base."

The gunmen were aware that soldiers at the barracks followed a regular routine on Saturday nights, when as many as 20 separate orders were made for pizza to be delivered.

One of the pizza delivery men wounded in the shooting was named locally as Anthony Watson (19), who lived in the Antrim area. His condition in hospital is described as serious. It is believed he was shot at least three times.

The condition of the second man, a 32-year-old Pole, is critical. Both worked for Domino's Pizza at Church Street, Antrim, which was open for business last night.

Police are examining a suspect vehicle abandoned in the nearby town of Randalstown at around 11pm last night.

The Massereene attack comes after repeated warnings about the capacity and intentions of dissident groups, by Sir Hugh Orde. It was disclosed last week that the dissident threat level had been officially raised to "severe" -- the second highest alert in Northern Ireland.

This came in the wake of the recent attempted car bombing of a British Army barracks at Ballykinlar in Co Down and an attack on an Orange Hall in Fermanagh. Anti-terrorist officers say there has been some crossover of personnel between the Real IRA and Continuity IRA recently. But they dismissed reports that the dissidents had set up a co-ordinated, cohesive command structure.

Since the Omagh bombing, the Real IRA has split up into several factions. A row in Portlaoise jail between the group's so-called chief of staff, Michael McKevitt, and his second in command, Liam Campbell, resulted in a deep division and the formation of separate outfits.

A third faction, led by a hardliner based in Derry, has been responsible for a series of terrorists attacks, including attempts to murder members of the PSNI, in the past 18 months.

[Ronski]

PM Brown in terror summit in wake of RIRA double murder at Massereene

Brown visits base where soldiers were killed before holding crisis security talks

By Deborah McAleese
Monday, 9 March 2009

Gordon Brown flew into Northern Ireland today for crisis talks with security and political chiefs amid widening public disgust over the Massereene Army base murders.

Mr Brown arrived at the base where on Saturday night two soldiers were assassinated by Real IRA gunmen and another four men, including two pizza delivery men, were seriously injured.

They were today named as Sapper Mark Quinsey (23), from Birmingham, and Sapper Cengiz Azimkar (21), from Wood Green, north London, both of 38 Engineer Regiment. They were killed outside the barracks in Antrim on Saturday night, hours before they were due to fly to Afghanistan.

Two other servicemen and two pizza deliverymen — one named as 19-year-old local Anthony Watson and the other a 32-year-old Polish man — were seriously injured in the attack which sent shockwaves through the province’s peace process.

The dead soldiers from 38 Engineer Regiment were wearing desert fatigues and taking delivery of pizzas before leaving for Afghanistan. They will be named today.

At one stage the killers stood over their victims and fired a second volley. Security chiefs believe the gunmen were prepared to murder all six in front of the main gates of the barracks.

The Real IRA, which last night claimed responsibility and branded the pizza deliverymen as British “collaborators�, is the same organisation that killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, in the bombing of Omagh in August 1998. A massive manhunt for the killers was under way today.

The Prime Minister arrived just after eight this morning amid tight security. Along with Secretary of State Shaun Woodward, he was due to meet the Chief Constable, senior Army personnel and political leaders to deliver the message that the peace process would not be derailed by the weekend attacks.

Mr Woodward said: “This is really a moment where we have to decide how we secure our future. If people come forward, there's no question ... people will go to jail for a very long time.�

Mr Brown was to hold talks with Mr Woodward and security minister Paul Goggins throughout the day about Saturday night’s attack and also to discuss security at Army bases with Brigadier George Norton — the most senior soldier in the Northern Ireland.

It is believed that security at Army stations across the province has been stepped up following the murders.

The Prime Minister branded the attack “evil�, and said no murder would derail the peace process.

“I think the whole country is shocked and outraged at the evil and cowardly attacks on soldiers serving their country. We will do everything in our power to make sure that Northern Ireland is safe and secure and I assure you we will bring these murderers to justice,� he said yesterday

Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has warned the people of Northern Ireland to be vigilant with the threat of further dissident republican attacks heightened. Sir Hugh is set to meet Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy on Thursday to discuss cross-border strategies to tackle the dissidents.

Sir Hugh said Saturday night’s shooting was a “brutal and cowardly attack� and appealed for anyone “who knows where these cowards are holed up to come forward so that Northern Ireland can move on in the way it is determined to do.�

Sinn Fein joined other parties in calling for the culprits’ arrest after Saturday’s shooting,.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA leader in Londonderry, demanded the dissidents call off their campaign.

He said: “I was a member of the IRA, but that war is over now.�

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams added that the perpetrators had no support and he urged party members to help the police investigation.

The MP said: “(The) attack was an attack on the peace process. It was wrong and counter-productive.�

The Real IRA “South Antrim Unit� claimed responsibility in a phone call to the Sunday Tribune newspaper in Dublin.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted the killings would not disrupt the peace process.

However, the Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and Mr McGuinness have delayed a planned visit to the United States which was due to end next Tuesday with a St Patrick’s Day meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House.

Police are examining a Vauxhall Cavalier they believe may have been used by the gunmen.The vehicle was abandoned in the Ranaghan Lane area of nearby Randalstown late on Saturday.

[Ronski]

Murder at army barracks caught on CCTV

Monday, 9 March 2009

The Real IRA gun attack which killed two British soldiers outside a barracks in Northern Ireland was captured on CCTV, police said today.

Detectives are currently examining footage from various cameras located around the entrance to the Massereene base in Antrim where masked gunmen struck on Saturday night.

Asked whether they had been caught on camera, Detective Chief Superintendent Derek Williamson said: "The CCTV footage from the barracks here is being examined and that is one part of that inquiry."

Army bomb disposal experts continue to examine a car believed to be the getaway vehicle which was left abandoned on a nearby country road. An attempt to set the car on fire was unsuccessful. It is now likely to contain vital forensic clues as to the identity of the terrorists. Detective Chief Superintendent Derek Williamson added: "That vehicle is subject to an examination by an ammunition technical officer.

"As soon as we are happy that that is safe forensic officers will move forward and examine that. It is for me at this point a key line of inquiry. The vehicle has not been burned out and we hope that there will be some clues gained within."

The detective appealed for information about the car - a green Vauxhall Cavalier registration TDZ 7309.

[BASEL]

Found this interesting over in the DI Forum:


Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamweaver View Post
Ah right. Couldn't this be a false flag op though?
Seems like it's EXACTLY that to me. The Irish are very anti EU (dictatorship). Remember their NO vote in the Irish refurendum last summer and the following demonstrations? The EUro-crats know that the country will not play easily into their hands as the will of the people is far too great.

Sir Hugh Orde, the chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has already said that there are "no plans to bring soldiers back to the streets of Northern Ireland". - ah well, expect Northern Ireland to become a militarised police state soon then As this will be the only way to bring the people down. By physical military force of fear.

It' also interesting to note that this guy, Sir Hugh Orde also recently enlisted the services of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which is a branch of the British Armed Forces predominantly involved with counter Terrorism. A quick wikipedia search of this regiment reveals that SRR personnel were involved in the intelligence collection effort leading to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, and they were also on the tube train whilst the offensive action occurred.

Something stinks............

[Ronski]

High-profile republican arrested over soldiers' killings

Saturday, 14 March 2009

One of the three men arrested by police probing the murder of two soldiers in Northern Ireland is the high profile republican Colin Duffy.

The 41-year-old former IRA prisoner had broken away from mainstream republicans and is part of a protest group that criticised Sinn Fein's decision to back the new Police Service of Northern Ireland.

He came to prominence in the 1990s after he was acquitted of the murder of a soldier when it emerged a key witness against him was a loyalist paramilitary, but was later arrested over the subsequent murder of two police constables though the case collapsed.

His solicitor, Rosemary Nelson, received threats after representing him in court and she was murdered in a loyalist car bomb attack at her Lurgan home in 1999.

Her death is now the subject of a high profile public inquiry.

Police teams in forensic suits were today searching Duffy's house in a private estate in Lurgan, Co Armagh.

Two other men aged 21 and 32 were arrested today after police raids in Lurgan and Bellaghy, Co Londonderry.

The three men were arrested by police probing the murder of two soldiers gunned down by the dissident republican Real IRA as they collected pizzas at the gates of Massereene barracks in Antrim last Saturday night.

Official sources, as well as republicans in the Lurgan area, today said Duffy was among the men arrested.

Two soldiers, Patrick Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23, were killed in the Real IRA ambush hours before they were to fly to Afghanistan.

A further two other soldiers were injured and two pizza delivery men were also wounded in the attack.

A prayer service organised by the Antrim Borough Council and local clergy will be held today at 5pm near the murder scene.

Detectives are examining CCTV footage from the area of the barracks and they also found what is believed to be the gunmen's getaway car seven miles from the scene of the murders.

The green Vauxhall Cavalier TDZ 7309 was found in Randalstown, Co Antrim, and had been bought two weeks earlier.

It is understood the gunmen had tried to burn the car out, but it had not ignited.

The two young soldiers were the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland in 12 years. Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in 1997.

Police are also questioning three people over the murder of police constable Stephen Carroll, 48, who was killed by gunmen from the Continuity IRA in an attack launched in Craigavon, Co Armagh on Monday night.

His funeral yesterday was attended by senior officers, politicians and leaders from across the community.

The Continuity IRA and the Real IRA are dissident republican groups that broke away from mainstream republicanism in opposition to the peace process.

They reject the decision of the mainstream IRA to end violence, decommission weapons and follow purely peaceful means to pursue republican political goals.

Colin Duffy is a member of the republican protest group Eirigi, which has not supported the new police service, but which insists it is a peaceful pressure group.

He attracted criticism last year when serious rioting in the Lurgan area led to attacks on police, which he failed to condemn.

After police came under gun and petrol-bomb attack during two days of rioting, he said the episodes were a symptom of a section of the nationalist community refusing to accept the PSNI.

But in the wake of the murder of the soldiers in Antrim and of Constable Carroll in the Lurgan/Craigavon area, Duffy and the Eirigi group were challenged to condemn the killings.

Eirigi, which is Irish for 'rise up', released a statement in response to the pressure insisting it did not support violent groups.

Earlier this week it said: "Eirigi is an open, independent, democratic political party which is not aligned to, or supportive of, any armed organisation."

It added: "While supporting the right of any people to defend themselves from imperial aggression, Eirigi does not believe that the conditions exist at this time for a successful armed struggle against the British occupation.

"As can be seen from the recent attacks on Britain's armed forces it is clear that not all republicans agree on how the British occupation should be resisted at this time.

"Those who carried out those attacks are best placed to explain their own rationale."

The Eirigi group includes Breandan Mac Cionnaith, who was unavailable for comment today, but who came to prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the nationalist Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition that opposed Orange Order parades through the Catholic enclave in Portadown, Co Armagh.

He resigned from Sinn Fein in protest over its decision to back the new police service, but has in the past said Eirigi is a peaceful political group.