Man arrested over N.Ireland soldier killings
Police in Northern Ireland arrested a 51-year-old man on Tuesday over the murders of two soldiers which threatened to plunge the province back into sectarian bloodshed.
The man was being questioned over the killings of sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey, who where gunned down on March 7 outside the Massereene Barracks in Antrim, northwest of Belfast, as they collected a pizza delivery.
The 51-year-old was also being questioned over the attempted murders of five others wounded in the attack.
“The male has been taken to the serious crime suite in Antrim for questioning,” a police spokeswoman said.
The shootings were claimed by the Real Irish Republican Army, a splinter faction of the IRA, the now-defunct Catholic paramilitary group.
The attack, followed two days later by the killing of a policeman, sparked fears of a resurgence in violence in the province.
Three decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland was largely ended with the signing of the Good Friday peace accords in 1998, which paved the way for a power-sharing government between the Protestant and Catholic communities.
Protestant unionists favour keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, while Catholic republicans want it to join the Republic of Ireland to the south.
Prominent dissident republican Colin Duffy, 41, was charged with the murders in March, while a 44-year-old man was charged with the killings on July 23.
Seven others have been arrested over the attack, though the 51-year-old held Tuesday is the only one in custody.
