Irish Protestant Militants Bury Slain Comrade

Thousands of Protestant militants Saturday flocked to the funeral of a top Protestant paramilitary leader, killed in an Irish Republican Army car bomb attack last week.

Police mounted a massive security operation at the funeral of John McMichael, 39, second-in-command of the 10,000-strong Ulster Defense Assn., to guard against any illegal paramilitary displays.

Police refused a family request for a band in paramilitary uniforms to lead the funeral procession.

The funeral in Lisburn, just outside Belfast, was peaceful. But police said they fear a wave of Protestant violence against Catholics to avenge Tuesday’s attack, which ripped apart McMichael’s bobby-trapped car, killing him instantly. The car exploded when McMichael started the engine.

IRA Claims Responsibility

Responsibility for the bombing was claimed by the outlawed IRA.

The Ulster Defense Assn., the province’s largest paramilitary group, is pledged to combatting the IRA and maintaining Protestant dominance over Northern Ireland.

Security sources in the Irish Republic said the police and army are on alert because of fears that Protestant paramilitary groups plan to launch a bombing campaign south of the border to avenge McMichael’s slaying.

The IRA, in its statement of responsibility, said McMichael secretly commanded the Ulster Defense Assn.’s outlawed terror wing, the Ulster Freedom Fighters, and planned terrorist attacks in the south.

It was a claim denied by Ulster Defense Assn. leader Andy Tyrie, who helped carry McMichael’s coffin--draped with the group’s flag--at the funeral. Tyrie had hinted hours after the bombing that the group would avenge the killing.

Also at the funeral was the Rev. Ian Paisley, the Protestant leader who said after McMichael’s killing that such actions would push Protestants “into taking the law into their own hands.”