Republican ambush claims life of woman on holiday

A BELFAST woman home on holiday from England was shot dead in a republican attack on the security forces in the north of the city yesterday, bringing the number of people killed by terrorists to just one short of 3,000.

Isobel Leyland, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, who was visiting her mother, was hit in the back by a single bullet as terrorists fired on a joint RUC-Army Land-Rover patrol in Flax Street, in the Ardoyne area. One bullet struck a Land-Rover and although none of the occupants was hurt, an elderly man nearby was hit in the arm. Police in Belfast called the killing a 'completely indiscriminate, reckless and senseless act'.

Mrs Leyland, 41, a mother of four and a native of Belfast, had been due to return to England last night after a 10-day visit. Her husband Brian flew to Ulster with their children, John, 21, Gerard, 18, Catherine, 14, and Rebecca, 12.

A man shot by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation in Newry, Co Down, earlier this week was yesterday in a serious condition. Paul McClelland, 29, a security guard at the local courthouse, was shot several times in his home.