Real IRA faction says it killed 2 British soldiers

[David]

AP


ANTRIM, Northern Ireland – An Irish newspaper says it received a statement from an IRA dissident group claiming responsibility for Saturday's gun attack at a British army base that killed two soldiers and wounded four other people.

The Sunday Tribune says its chief Northern Ireland reporter, Suzanne Breen, received a telephone call from a man claiming to represent the Real IRA splinter group. Breen says he used a recognized codeword to verify he was an authorized spokesman for the outlawed gang.

Breen says the Real IRA representative claimed responsibility and defended the gunmen's decision to shoot four soldiers and two pizza delivery men at the entrance of an army base. Breen says the Real IRA spokesman described the Domino's Pizza workers as British Army "collaborators."