An expert witness has told a court in Northern Ireland that ammunition used to kill two British soldiers at a military base in Antrim was of a make and date similar to those used in Provisional IRA shootings.
Jonathan Greer, a forensic scientist specialising in firearms, was giving evidence today in the trial of two men accused of murdering sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar at Massereene Barracks two years ago.
Four people, including two pizza delivery drivers, were seriously hurt in the attack, responsibly for which was claimed by breakaway group, the Real IRA.
The court heard an examination of spent bullet cartridges retrieved from the scene revealed that one of the two guns used on the night of 7 March 2009 had also been used in previous attacks on PSNI stations in Antrim and Derry.
Mr Greer said the bullets were stamped with a code, indicating they were made by a company in the former Yugoslavia for military purposes. He said "cartridges of those manufacture and date" have been "attributed" previously to the Provisional IRA.
Earlier today, the court was told there was "pandemonium" at the military base in the wake of the attack.
Emergency medical personnel said they were called to attend a multiple shooting after a frantic 999 call from a wounded solider.
The family of Mark Quinsey were visibly distressed as paramedics recalled their attempts to resuscitate the 23-year-old at the scene. He was taken to Antrim Area Hospital where a major incident trauma room had been established. He died from multiple gunshot wounds to the neck, buttock and arm.
A civilian security guard on duty at Massarenne that night said he initially believed the sound of gunfire was noise from fireworks. He said he saw a car outside the Barracks and the "silhouette of a driver" but could not "make out any detail".
The accused, 43-year-old Colin Duffy from Forest Glade in Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Brian Shivers, 46, from Sperrin Mews in Magherafelt, Co Derry, deny two charges of murder and several counts of attempted murder.
Their trial, before Mr Justice Hart, continues.
