Loyalist feud victim buried

UDP councillor John White (left) helps carry the coffin of Mr Mahood

The funeral has taken place of one of the victims of the violent feud between loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.

Bobby Mahood, 48, was shot dead in Belfast on Monday as he sat in a parked vehicle with Jackie Coulter, who was also killed.

The killings were blamed on the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) which is involved in a feud with the Ulster Defence Association/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UDA/UFF).

The shooting dead of a 22-year-old man in north Belfast on Wednesday night has been blamed on the UFF, in reprisal for Monday's double murder.

Several hundred people gathered for Mr Mahood 's funeral as it left his home at Snugville Street, off Belfast's Shankill Road.

John White, chairman of the Ulster Democratic Party which has links to the UFF, was among mourners.

His body was taken to Carnmoney Cemetery in the north of the city for burial.

The latest victim of the feud was 22-year-old Sam Rocket. It is understood the dead man had links to the UVF.

The incident happened at a house in Summer Street in the loyalist Oldpark area of the city just before 2300 BST on Wednesday.

Mr Rocket was taken to the nearby Mater Hospital but was pronounced dead at 2250 BST.

The Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Mandelson, has condemned the attack as "senseless".

Victim's daughter present

The police cordoned off Summer Street, near the Crumlin Road.

This further killing takes the loyalist feud to a new low

Peter Mandelson

A follow-up security operation is centred on a terraced house which is being examined by forensic scientists.

It is believed the victim was in the living room of the house with his girlfriend and young daughter when the shooting happened.

A weekend of tension between the rival groups and the double murder has seen an increase in security force activity in the nearby Protestant Shankill Road area of the city.

Mandelson appeal

In a statement, Mr Mandelson made it clear he believed there was a link.

Forensic scientists search for evidence

Mr Mandelson said: "This further killing takes the loyalist feud to a new low, with yet another loyalist family grieving as a result of this senseless behaviour. It is a cowardly act that will be condemned across the community.

"However long it takes for the present tension to subside, these rival organisations must recognise that continuing violence is getting them nowhere.

The Progressive Unionist Party Assembly member, Billy Hutchinson, confirmed he knew the victim.

Mr Hutchinson, whose party has links to the UVF, blamed the UFF for the murder and condemned security forces, who he claimed had left the area open to attack.

He said: "Of course it was a UFF attack.

"I've been saying all along, mediation will have to come, it's a matter of time but at the moment all of these calls for mediation are just going to fall on deaf ears. People have to pull back from the brink.

"The security forces on the Shankill have to be blamed for this as well.

"They've allowed a young man to be killed while they were carrying out security operations elsewhere."

Gary McMichael of the Ulster Democratic Party, which has links to the UFF, described the killing as a tragedy.

He said: "It appears that he is the latest victim of this senseless feud between loyalists.

"I once again appeal to all loyalists to end this madness and urge them to accept that mediation to resolve this crisis in now imperative."

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, six men were arrested on Wednesday night in a security operation in Belfast's Shankill Road.

An RUC spokesman said officers saw two cars acting suspiciously on Canmore Street at about 2240 BST and chased the occupants on foot.

The six were arrested in Nelson Court.

Police found a number of firearms and ammunition in follow-up searches.

Other items were taken away for forensic examination.