Police investigating the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney in January have arrested two men.
A 49-year-old man was detained in Belfast, the other, aged 36, was arrested in Birmingham.
Mr McCartney died after he was attacked outside Magennis's Bar in Belfast city centre on 30 January. His friend, Brendan Devine, had been stabbed in a row inside the pub moments before.
Mr McCartney was attempting to bring his friend from the pub when a group of men followed them into an alleyway.
He received a stab wound to his abdomen and was also beaten. The 33-year-old was found by chance by two policemen on anti-burglary duties in the area.
Since the killing, the McCartney family, and his fiancée Bridgeen Hagans, have maintained IRA members were involved and have campaigned for the killers to be brought to justice.
One of Mr McCartney's sisters, Catherine McCartney, welcomed the arrests but said the family remained cautious. She said people have been arrested before and let out.
The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, said the arrests showed that the PSNI is doing its job in pursuing those responsible for the murder despite the intimidation faced by the community in the wake of the killing.
