A breakaway Protestant paramilitary group in Northern Ireland which is opposed to the peace process says it was responsible for the killing of a Roman Catholic man in Belfast on Saturday.

The group - which calls itself the Red Hand Defenders -- says its members shot the man, Brian Service, as he walked home in the early hours of the morning.

The Red Hand Defenders say they were also behind an attack on a bar in the strongly Roman Catholic area of West Belfast, an hour earlier.

Correpsondents say the killing comes at a time when the political process in Northern Ireland is making little progress, and has prompted fears of a return to random sectarian killings.