Car being examined after dramatic M50 gun attack

Gardaí in Dublin are examining a car they believe may have been used in yesterday morning's drive-by shooting on the M50 motorway in Dublin.

The vehicle was found abandoned at a hotel in the west of the city yesterday evening following the dramatic gun attack and high-speed chase just after 4am.

During the incident, a masked gang armed with a sub-machine gun and travelling in a speeding Opel Astra fired more than 20 shots at a Lexus also travelling at high speed along the M50.

The targeted car was carrying two suspected drug-dealers and three of their female associates.

At least one of the two men, who were both wearing bullet-proof vests, sustained minor wounds during the shooting and was treated in hospital before discharging himself last night.

The man had also been shot in the stomach during another gun attack close to his home in Finglas two weeks ago.

Gardaí and opposition politicians say it was miraculous that no members of the public were killed or injured during the shooting, which led to part of the state's busiest motorway being closed for several hours yesterday as detectives searched for bullets and other evidence.