Commanding officer pays tribute to Real IRA victim

The commanding officer of a soldier shot dead by the Real IRA outside his barracks in the North spoke today of the young man’s desire to help others before himself.

Speaking before the funeral of 21-year-old Sapper Patrick Azimkar at the Guards Chapel on Birdcage Walk in central London, Lieutenant Colonel Roger Lewis said: “Pat was a highly-motivated young sapper who was always willing to go the extra mile and he never ceased to amaze me with his enthusiasm and determination to get the job done.”

He described the killing of Sapper Azimkar of Wood Green, north London, and Sapper Mark Quinsey as “callous”.

He said: “On the evening of March 7 we suffered a blow of incalculable sadness.”

He said the two men were, along with the rest of their regiment, “preparing with quiet determination” to deploy to Afghanistan that night.

More than 100 mourners gathered at the chapel for the service including the North's chief constable Hugh Orde.

The two men died in a hail of more than 60 bullets as men with automatic weapons fired at troops as they collected food at the gates of Massereene Barracks in Antrim on March 7.

Two other servicemen and two pizza delivery men were also injured.

After mourners entered the chapel Sapper Azimkar’s coffin arrived carried in a hearse decorated with flowers saying “forever loved” and “Pat”. His family followed in the cars behind.