Troubles in Northern Ireland again?

[Father Jack]

From the BBC - updated

Two military personnel have been shot dead during a gun attack at an Army base in County Antrim, police said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said two further military personnel and two civilians, all believed to be male, were were in a serious condition.
The incident took place at the Massereene Army base in Antrim, 16 miles north of Belfast, at 2140 GMT.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence described the shooting as a "drive-by" attack.
'Loud bangs'
The four injured men have all been taken to Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away from the scene.
It is believed that there were two long busts of gunfire during the incident.

A major security operation is under way and the area surrounding the barracks, which is home to 38 Engineering Regiment, has been sealed off.
One witness who lives near the base told the BBC how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks.
He added: "Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20.
"Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances.

“ For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries... Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep ”
Ian Paisley Junior
Democratic Unionist Party
"There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other."
Ian Paisley Jnr, a Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Policing Board, said the shooting could prove to be a defining moment in Northern Ireland's history.
He said: "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep."
David Ford, the leader of the Alliance Party, said it was "inconceivable" that the attack could have been carried out by anyone other than dissident republicans.
"The important thing is that we must not see politics and the peace settlement that we have, fragile though it is, destabilised by this kind of action," he added.
No-one has so far claimed responsibility.
The attack comes shortly after Sir Hugh Orde, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, requested the Special Reconnaissance Regiment's help to gather intelligence on dissident republicans.
In 2008, dissident Republicans attempted to kill PSNI officers during separate incidents in Derry City and Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
Security forces defused a 300lb (136kg) bomb in Castlewellan, Co Down, close to a barracks in February 2009.

I hope they update with more news soon, but what are people thoughts? It has been a while since soldiers were targeted in NI.

[Calvin]

Oh God, I truly hope that this will be a one off incident. No-one wants the troubles to start up again.

[Carach]

SAS and recon units have been sent back into NI too...which probably wont go down nicely for the republicans.

[Calvin]

Why stir up the hornets nest again?

[The Sundance Kid]

Maybe when Britain pulls its troops out of Iraq over the next 12 months they can go straight back into service in Northern Ireland?

That crafty old Gordon, making sure we've got enough jobs for our British lads. He really loves this country.

[Carach]

uhh. its the republicans starting this up again, not us :/

[The Sundance Kid]

SAS and recon units have been sent back into NI too...

Is this before these shootings, or after? If before, then it has a fair chance of stimulating the shootings.

[Carach]

well this news is fresh in i think so.. just before.

although, there must be some reason for the reintroduction of such covert units... something's obviously been brewing for a little while

[Yorkshireman]

well this news is fresh in i think so.. just before.

although, there must be some reason for the reintroduction of such covert units... something's obviously been brewing for a little while

Monitering of "dissident" reublican groups. I read the NI news daily, there's always some sort of small scale incident, failed bomb attacks or attacks on the police or property but nothing normally on the scale of pre-1997.

This looks like a serious escalation. I'd have thought that Sinn Fein would have had enough pull to reign them in.

[The Sundance Kid]

If something's brewing, and the government has got wind of it, publicly sending troops is a terrible mistake. It puts an oppressive mask over any government action to try and quell said simmering cauldron, and whatever they do afterwards, helpful or not, it is tainted by a military presence. And if it's anything like the IRA bombings, sending army units will not stop it. It'll only serve as a catalyst to steel their resolve.

[Carach]

If something's brewing, and the government has got wind of it, publicly sending troops is a terrible mistake.

dont think it was public, but the media dont tend to care about people's lives.. they merely care about a good story - they got wind of it and viola..

and the sas and recon units arent exactly conventional troops that are visible patrolling streets...

[Каие]

Guys the Troubles never really ended, there have been plenty of Republican/Catholic activities ever since the Good Friday agreement, it's just all been over shadowed by the brown lot. You know those... Muzlimz, or something, I forget sometimes. They make better news. Usually anyway. Even if the Catholics do start up again, it won't be the same as before, these are dissidents not mainstream, the democratic process has been embraced by most in both sections of the Irish community. It's doubtful there will be any kind of support for them.

In other words...Advantage Queen Liz.

[Father Jack]

latest update

Two military personnel have been shot dead during a gun attack at an Army base in County Antrim, police said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said two further military personnel and two civilians, all believed to be male, were were in a serious condition.
The incident took place at the Massereene Army base in Antrim, 16 miles north of Belfast, at 2140 GMT.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence described the shooting as a "drive-by" attack.
'Loud bangs'
The four injured men have all been taken to Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away from the scene.
It is believed that there were two long busts of gunfire during the incident.

A major security operation is under way and the area surrounding the barracks, which is home to 38 Engineering Regiment, has been sealed off.
One witness who lives near the base told the BBC how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks.
He added: "Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20.
"Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances.

“ For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries... Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep ”
Ian Paisley Junior
Democratic Unionist Party
"There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other."
Ian Paisley Jnr, a Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Policing Board, said the shooting could prove to be a defining moment in Northern Ireland's history.
He said: "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep."
David Ford, the leader of the Alliance Party, said it was "inconceivable" that the attack could have been carried out by anyone other than dissident republicans.
"The important thing is that we must not see politics and the peace settlement that we have, fragile though it is, destabilised by this kind of action," he added.
No-one has so far claimed responsibility.
The attack comes shortly after Sir Hugh Orde, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, requested the Special Reconnaissance Regiment's help to gather intelligence on dissident republicans.
In 2008, dissident Republicans attempted to kill PSNI officers during separate incidents in Derry City and Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
Security forces defused a 300lb (136kg) bomb in Castlewellan, Co Down, close to a barracks in February 2009.

[Каие]

It says doesn't it?

Two military personnel have been shot dead during a gun attack at an Army base in County Antrim, police said. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said two further military personnel and two civilians, all believed to be male, were were in a serious condition .

Looks like it's actually kicking off again then. OK, now it's time to learn from history.

[Father Jack]

It says doesn't it?


Looks like it's actually kicking off again then. OK, now it's time to learn from history.

whoops, i need some sleep.

Hmm this is begining to look more serious then it was first made out to be although this looks like the actions of the RIRA or CIRA or INLA - so basicly small splinter groups of the prior IRA (cheers Steven for that - you know who you are x)

[Carach]

so.. anyone that use the IRA in their arguments about the possibilities of negotiating with terrorists wanna speak up now and defend this one?

(i kid...the info isnt detailed enough to know what exactly's going on yet.. maybe ill use this line in a few weeks when it becomes clearer)

[Каие]

so.. anyone that use the IRA in their arguments about the possibilities of negotiating with terrorists wanna speak up now and defend this one?

(i kid...the info isnt detailed enough to know what exactly's going on yet.. maybe ill use this line in a few weeks when it becomes clearer)

It's not the IRA, but yes the Republicans should reel these fellows in ASAP, negotiation and face to face talking (gasp! shock! horror!) if necessary.

They are not really targeting Britain, but rather the establishment, which they consider Sinn Fein a part of now. I read somewhere yesterday that they wanted to get an image of a dead Catholic policeman's coffin with Sinn Fein walking behind it to truly show that Sinn Fein was now a part of the establishment.

[Paxman]

Way to go ing republican morons, support your united ireland by bringing yet more death and misery to Northern Ireland.

[Osceola]

It's not Sinn Fein's men , nor is it the Provisional IRA, it's the splinter groups that were formed in the 90's, their so full of moles and double agents though that while they've been trying to attack for months now, almost all of these have been foiled by British intelligence.

These guys were originally just organised crime who didn't give a that much about their cause, their more into drugs, but I guess now they want to play serious.

CIRA, RIRA, and INLA, their retards.

[Pious Agnost]

Not again...