1 Dead in Attack on Catholics in N. Ireland Bar
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BELFAST, Northern Ireland — One man was killed and five others were injured when suspected Protestant gunmen attacked a Northern Ireland bar packed with Roman Catholics celebrating New Year’s Eve, police said today.
The killing, the third in the British-ruled province in five days, fueled fears of a new cycle of sectarian slayings and dashed hopes of an early peace deal.
“It has all the hallmarks of a sectarian shooting incident,” a senior police detective said.
Two attackers, believed to have been armed with a rifle and a handgun, opened fire in the Clifton Tavern in a Catholic area of the Northern Ireland capital, Belfast. Six men were hit and one later died at a hospital, a police spokesman said.
Tension had been high throughout Wednesday, with fears that vengeful loyalist gunmen would launch a New Year’s Eve strike against Catholics after the weekend killing of jailed loyalist guerrilla leader Billy Wright by Irish republicans.
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