LONDON — Leaders from across the political spectrum vowed Sunday that the first fatal attack on British soldiers in Northern Ireland in 12 years would not derail the peace process put in motion by the 1998 accord between Catholic republicans and Protestant loyalists.
The shooting Saturday night at the British army base in the county of Antrim left two soldiers dead and wounded four people, including a pair of pizzeria workers who were making a delivery when the assailants struck.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the assault as an “evil and cowardly” act certain to fail in its political aims.
“We will do everything in our power to make sure that Northern Ireland is safe and secure, and I assure you that we will bring these murderers to justice,” Brown told the British Broadcasting Corp. “No murderer will be able to derail a peace process that has the support of the great majority of Northern Ireland.”
On the other side of the divide, Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army during the militant group’s years of armed struggle against British rule in the tiny territory, also denounced the attack.
Police said two dissidents with assault rifles opened fire Saturday night from a car as four soldiers — who were just hours away from being deployed to Afghanistan — met two Domino’s Pizza delivery men at the entrance of the Massereene army barracks in Antrim, west of Belfast.
All four soldiers were wounded, two fatally. Also shot were the two delivery men: a teenager who was seriously wounded and a 32-year-old Polish immigrant left in critical condition.
On Sunday, an Irish newspaper said it had received a claim of responsibility from a dissident group known as the “Real IRA.” The Real IRA was responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack in Northern Ireland history: a 1998 car bombing of the town of Omagh that killed 29 people, mostly women and children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
