Leading republican Marian Price — jailed for bombing the Old Bailey in London in the 1970s — has been arrested by detectives investigating the Real IRA murder of two soldiers in Antrim.

The 55-year-old was detained by officers in west Belfast today.

A 39-year-old man was also arrested, in Coalisland, east Tyrone, by detectives investigating the dissident republican killings outside the Massereene Army barracks earlier this year.

Price and her sister, Dolours, were among eight people convicted of exploding two IRA car bombs in London in March 1973.

One person died and almost 200 were injured in the two bombs. One blew up outside the Old Bailey criminal court, while the other went off outside Scotland Yard.

She served seven years of a life sentence, during which time she went on hunger strike before she was released on health grounds. Dolours was released on health grounds as well.

Price now chairs the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association and is active in the political wing of the Real IRA, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, considered to be the Real IRA’s political wing.

In recent years, she has become a vocal opponent of Sinn Fein’s political position, saying: “It is not, certainly not, what I went to prison for.”

A total of 14 people have now been arrested in connection with the murders of Sappers Patrick Azimkar (21) from London, and Mark Quinsey (23) from Birmingham, at the military base in March this year.

To date, two men have been charged over the murders — prominent Co Armagh republican Colin Duffy (41) and Brian Shivers (44) from Magherafelt, Co Londonderry.

Gunmen opened fire on the soldiers as they collected food from a pizza delivery man outside the Massereene base just hours before they were due to be deployed to Afghanistan.

Within 48 hours of the killings a separate dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA, shot police officer Stephen Carroll dead in Craigavon, Co Armagh.

A 17-year-old youth has been charged in connection with the murder of the police officer.

Marian and Dolours are the daughters of Albert Price, a prominent Irish republican and former IRA member, from Belfast.