Policeman shot dead in Northern Ireland days after soldiers slain
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A policeman has been shot dead in Northern Ireland 48 hours after the killing of two British soldiers, dashing hopes of an end to a surge of violence aimed at derailing the peace process. Republican splinter group Continuity IRA claimed Tuesday responsibility for the attack. (UPDATED)
The policeman, named as Stephen Paul Carroll, 48, was shot in the head late Monday in an area known to be home to nationalist republican supporters in Craigavon, 20 miles (30 kilometres) southwest of Belfast, police said
On Saturday night two soldiers, including Turkish-origin Cengiz Azimkar, 21, from London, were killed at the Massereene barracks northwest of Belfast, in an attack claimed by another dissident republican group, the Real IRA.
That attack was the first killing of a soldier in the British province for 12 years. The policeman was the first to die since the Police Service of Northern Ireland took over from the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 2001.
One lawmaker warned that Northern Ireland was "staring into the abyss," but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed no return to the "old days" of the so-called Troubles which killed more than 3,500 people over three decades.
Republican splinter group Continuity IRA have claimed responsibility for killing a policeman in Northern Ireland, in the provinces second attack in 48 hours, AFP reported citing the Press Association.
"As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue," they said in a coded message claiming to have killed a policeman Monday night, two days after two soldiers were shot dead.