The funeral of one of two British soldiers shot dead by dissident republicans at a military base in Antrim earlier this month has taken place in Birmingham.
Mark Quinsey, 23, was shot dead as he collected pizzas with 21-year-old Patrick Azimkar at the gates of Massereene Barracks on 7 March.
The sister of the murdered soldier described his killers as 'cowards’ and said her ‘best friend’ did not deserve to die.
Speaking during the funeral service Jamie Quinsey said she was struggling to come to terms with his murder.
Reading a letter she had written to her brother, the 25-year-old said: ‘It breaks my heart to think that I will never see you again. What's happened to you is just so hard for me to understand.
‘You were the most caring, respectable young lad I knew. You did not deserve what those cowards did to you.’
The sapper's sister also spoke to the media outside the church, where she thanked the people of Northern Ireland for their messages of support.
11 people remain in custody in connection with the soldiers' murders and that of Constable Stephen Carroll in Craigavon on 9 March.
Investigating officers have also been given a further seven days to question a 17-year-old youth and a 37-year-old man.
They were the first two people to be detained last week.
