Two Arrested in N. Ireland Murder Case

Police in this British province have arrested two men in connection with the murder of Robert McCartney, whose killing by a group that included IRA members sparked international outrage and heaped pressure on the guerrillas to disarm.

One man has already been charged with McCartney’s murder and another with the attempted murder of his friend Brendan Devine.

At least 10 more people have been arrested but were released without charge.

McCartney, 33, was stabbed to death Jan. 30 in a brawl outside a Belfast bar. Devine was seriously injured in the fight.

Facing what they called a conspiracy of silence from witnesses, the slain man’s family members launched a campaign for justice that took them to Washington, where they met President Bush.

Also on Tuesday, gunmen killed a former leader in Northern Ireland’s largest Protestant guerrilla group.

Jim Gray, who survived an assassination attempt in 2002 and was ousted from the Ulster Defense Assn. in March, was killed outside his home in Belfast. Television pictures showed Gray’s body on the ground, covered with a blood-stained sheet.

Gray faced charges of money laundering.