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Dissident Real IRA claims responsibility for army barracks attack
Sunday, 8 March 2009
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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.
>>More on the attack and reaction
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.
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Comments
29 Comments
The Real IRA, Continuity IRA along with any other terrorist splinter groups have no place in Ireland / Northern Ireland !
Those organizations do not stand for peace, human rights, equality or any other worthy causes, all they do is carry out cowardly indiscriminate murders of innocent people and oppress the general growth of Northern Ireland both economically and socially.
Its time the people of Northern Ireland unite together with a monumental stand against these terrorists, it is crucial we give total support to the PSNI to remove this unwanted scum from our society.
Posted by Paul | 12.03.09, 10:04 GMT
What a sad news.. I think the rest of the world is in total disbelief of what's happening in Northern Ireland. The news comments in the Dutch media speak of the old dispute between catholics and protestants but I think that we should forget about this. It's simply a matter of peace-loving Northern Irish people on one side and terrorists on the other.
Let's hope that the Northern Irish community is strong and stable enough to withstand this new violent attacks on their democracy.
Posted by Joske | 10.03.09, 08:46 GMT
SteveW it's rather naughty of you to excite poor nutts with the vision of those ~ 1 million people being driven out at gunpoint. He probably fantasises about such a scenario! ;-)
Posted by Centaur | 09.03.09, 21:02 GMT
If there were no British in Ireland, there would be no sad stories today. It is really as simple as that.
Posted by nutts | 08.03.09, 23:21 GMT
Ah. Good old sound bite politics. Saves you from having to think for yourself.
So nutts, how do you intend to organise the movement of ~ 1 million people out of 'Ireland'? Are we to be paid compensation or just pushed out at gunpoint?
I also seem to remember that the Irish Civil war had about 4000 sad stories without any British present.
Posted by SteveW | 09.03.09, 16:07 GMT
These people will never disappear. "The cause" didn't need them, but they still need "the cause". Just to prove to themselves that there existence actually matters. These people will not be successful farmers, businessmen, teachers or medics. What else can they do but play "the hard men"? And this is a play, if ever they run the risk of being shot themselves they can't run fast enough. Maybe they should beat up a few teenagers and have a drink in the pub...just so to complete there day.
Posted by John | 09.03.09, 04:35 GMT
Yesterday I heard the sickening news of more violence in Northern Ireland. I live in Australia and wonder what kind of people you are in Northern Ireland. Murders, threats and intimidation seem to be the norm. These latest cowardly murders of innocent people by thugs show the world that you are a comminty to be avoided. Shame on all of you for the past and present murders of the innocent. You put up with this barbarity because you don't know any better. Where I live we accept and tolerate people from all over the world. When we don't agree we express it through the ballot box, not by shooting people in the back.
Posted by Greg Williams | 09.03.09, 04:31 GMT
I think that the death penalty should be introduced for people involved in terrorist crime post the peace agreement. If a hangman can't be found I'll do the job for a couple of beers. I people don't want capital punisment let's have life imprisonment real tough American style. I'm talking about life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and 23 hours a day solitary confinment.l Let's hope the guilty parties in relation to this event are quickly caught and brought to justice.
Posted by Jim | 09.03.09, 03:36 GMT
So, the Irish Nazis strike again. The people of Ireland, north and south, have voted on how they want things to be.
That is not good enough for these thugs, so they dictate to the rest of us how they want things to be from the end of a gun their idea of an ideal Ireland.
In Germany the Nazis did the same thing; they simply executed anyone who differed with their way of thinking. What sort of logic is that?
Posted by Centaur | 09.03.09, 02:36 GMT
Ariel says "they want the hatred to be started and spread again" Yeah, you're right there, but the 'they' are the low life no good scumbags, NOT as you think, the government.
But this is what happens when concession after concession was given to the low lifers - who should STILL have been doing 'life' instead of running free.
Posted by Stuart | 09.03.09, 02:22 GMT
Only a tiny percentage of the Northern Ireland population are pleased about what the murderers did, but as usual its the tiny percentage who sully us all. The vast majority of Northern Ireland people are appalled by what happened, and fearful and nervous of something similar ocurring. The individuals who did it need to be removed by due process and incarcerated away from our society ; before someone else gets murdered and more damage caused to our tentatively mending country. A subhuman outrage like this was on the cards for some time and will happen again. Perhaps the republican movement in general should reflect on this and provide information on the individuals of their breakaway group to the PSNI, although its naive to think they would turn in their cohorts in their now pathetic and unjust 'struggle'. Soldiers RIP.
Posted by G | 09.03.09, 01:45 GMT
The RIRA are cowards committed to keeping the old status quo so they have something to do with their time since they're likely on the dole. They and all the other securo-crats are really afraid of change and not emotionally mature enough to be able to accept that there is a new frontier and the People of Northern Ireland have spoken about what they want. In a situation like this, the good of the many must outweigh the good of the few. Everyone, Republican and Unionist, must band together and put these idiots out of commission.
Posted by Kevin | 09.03.09, 00:29 GMT
This is the 1970 revisited. It is impossible to belive that the leaders of the PIRA and their political master do not know who these people are. Remember the attacks on Catholic RUC Officers and soldiers - here we go again.
Posted by Monty | 09.03.09, 00:28 GMT
A personal message to the two so called "brave" volunteers of the RIRA who completed last nights attack on unarmed soldiers and civilians. I don't think you would of been so brave or eager to shoot unarmed people only doing their jobs if you had thought for one second that there would of been a possibility that any one of those soldiers could of defended themselves or defended other innocent members of the public by shooting you, in lets face it what were less than fair circumstances. I'm sure your organisation would of been very quick to cry "foul play" as well as "shoot to kill" but hey thats just the mark of youse!! May God have mercy on your souls!! and I hope you hate the sight of your own reflections when you crawl back out from underneath your stones and look in the mirror!!
Posted by Rudeboy33 | 09.03.09, 00:04 GMT
Lets face it - the security forces know exactly who did this. If these individuals aren't handed over like homer wisely suggests, then they shoud be wiped out. There should be no tolerance for these "people". This is not about a fair trial or british justice, it is about common sense, until these murderers are wiped out then we will continue to see this happen year after year. Lets show them the same compassion they are showing us.
Posted by C | 09.03.09, 00:03 GMT
This act of violence by faceless cowards was designed to try and divide the Irish people once again, but we must not let it.
The British and Irish governments, Sinn Fein, SDLP, UUP, DUP and Alliance parties have all come out together in solidarity to singularly condemn the cowards of the Real IRA; we, the people of Ireland and the UK must do the same and stand together against these scum.
While some of us are Unionist and some of us Nationalist, and while we may banter with each other on here about flags, national anthems, economies and ideologies, there is no justification on the island of Ireland for hatred so deep that it leads to the murder of innocent people, Irish, British or otherwise.
My thoughts go out to the families of the two young soldiers and those injured in the attack. While Ireland may not be perfect and some may wish to see things change, this is not the way to go about it, it never was, and it never will be.
Without support, they cannot exist.
Posted by Steven 73 | 08.03.09, 23:55 GMT
Ariel, that's absolutely ridiculous, you need your head examined....
Posted by Michael | 08.03.09, 23:40 GMT
If there were no British in Ireland, there would be no sad stories today. It is really as simple as that.
Posted by nutts | 08.03.09, 23:21 GMT
Horrific evidence that there is a requirement for intelligence gathering officers on the streets of Northen Ireland. Let's not be bullied by Sinn Fein/IRA
Posted by tommy hall | 08.03.09, 22:45 GMT
My heart goes out yet again to the victims families and friends, I feel nothing but disgust that we are being dragged back into one of the darkest periods in our history, I don't want to go back, enough families were torn apart without more being added to the list. It cannot be justified.
Posted by Catherine | 08.03.09, 22:28 GMT
The men with guns were never really going to do without them for very long, its in their nature, whatever their politics or creed. What i do find incredible is though, as a former soldier with some experience, is that soldiers are being allowed these days to have deliveries of fast food bought to the gates of their barracks!!
Posted by Disapointed | 08.03.09, 22:17 GMT
29 Comments