Shot soldiers were 'magnificent' servicemen

The North's most senior soldier paid tribute today to the two “magnificent” servicemen shot dead by Real IRA gunmen outside an Army barracks.

Brigadier George Norton condemned the “callous and clinical attack” outside the Massereene Barracks in Antrim on Saturday.

Denying that security was lax at the barracks, Brigadier Norton said personnel at the base were shocked, but were determined to go ahead as planned with their mission in Afghanistan.

The slain soldiers had been due to depart for Afghanistan on Sunday morning.

Two other servicemen and two pizza deliverymen – one named as 19-year-old local Anthony Watson and the other a 32-year-old Pole – were also seriously injured in the shooting, which sent shockwaves through the province’s peace process.