Officers Wounded in Attack on Checkpoint

Gunmen wounded three British soldiers and two police officers at a checkpoint in north Belfast, police said, in an attack on the eve of Protestant marches throughout the province. Hospital official said none of the injuries was life-threatening. Residents of the Catholic enclave of Ardoyne said attackers fired about 20 shots and threw a grenade at the security forces before speeding away. Earlier in the day, gunmen fired at a Protestant gathering in north Belfast, hitting an 18-year-old man in the leg and scattering the crowd. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. Northern Ireland’s main Protestant fraternal group, the Orange Order, has said it would cancel or reroute four marches that Catholic militants had vowed to block. Many enraged members vowed to defy their leaders’ decision and gather as planned today in Belfast, Londonderry, Newry and Armagh.