IRA Battles Police in Dispute Over Funeral
Masked supporters of the Irish Republican Army attacked police with firebombs and grenades and torched hijacked buses and cars Tuesday night to protest a clash between police and mourners that halted the funeral of a slain guerrilla for a second day.
A sniper shot and seriously wounded a British soldier in an IRA stronghold in West Belfast.
In the mostly Roman Catholic city of Londonderry, 85 miles northwest of Belfast, IRA supporters stoned police and parked a van loaded with time bombs in front of a police station before police discovered the van and bomb experts defused the explosives.
The violence was triggered by a battle between police and mourners Tuesday at a funeral procession for IRA member Laurence Marley, 41, slain by Protestant gunmen last week. A similar clash on Monday forced a postponement of the funeral. The family planned to try again today to bury Marley.
Police were called out in force to prevent a paramilitary display by the outlawed IRA. In the past, armed guerrillas have often fired memorial volleys over the coffin.
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