Two men, understood to be soldiers, have been killed in a drive-by shooting at a British Army barracks in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Four other men were injured in the attack, when shots were fired from a passing car at the Massereene Army base in County Antrim, north of Belfast.
Two were thought to be military personnel and the others civilians.
The attack happened at around 9.20pm on Saturday night.
A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "We can confirm that an attack has been carried out in Massereene in Antrim.
"There have been two fatalities. It is understood that those two fatalities are male.
"It is also understood that a further four males have been brought to hospital and are in a serious condition."
A spokesman for the Antrim Area Hospital said: “There have been six people brought in with injuries.”
The shooting follows warnings last week by Sir Hugh Orde, Northern Ireland’s police chief, that the threat of a serious terror attack in Northern Ireland was higher than at any time since he joined the force seven years ago.
An Army special forces squad is mounting a round-the-clock surveillance operation on dissident republicans intent in Northern Ireland.
It is understood there were two long busts of gunfire. Immediately afterwards, sirens could be heard blaring inside the military barracks, which is located on the edge of the town.
At least six ambulances and three paramedic vehicles rushed to the scene to take the injured to hospital.
The area around the barracks has been sealed off and a major security operation is under way. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
One witness who lives near the base told how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks.
He added: “Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20.
“Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances.
“There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other.”
