Ex-Soldier Killed in Northern Ireland

A former soldier was shot to death and his wife was hospitalized in grave condition Sunday after they were ambushed in an apparent attack by the Irish Republican Army, police said.

Bertie Gilmore, a former soldier who served with the Ulster Defense Regiment, and his wife were attacked after they traveled Saturday night to the site of a home they planned to build at Kilrea, 65 miles northwest of Belfast.

Masked gunmen drove up to their car and opened fire with automatic weapons, police said. Gilmore died instantly and his wife was hit three times in the neck and body, a spokesman for the Royal Ulster Constabulary said.

The killing took place only 24 hours after 600 British troops were flown to Northern Ireland to bolster 11,000 troops already on duty in the province.