Northern Ireland republican dissidents fire shots in attempted abduction

Armed republican dissidents attempted to abduct a man from his home in Derry last night, and fired shots at vehicles on the driveway. Two masked men called at the house, in the Cornshell Fields area, at 10.30pm, and on discovering their target was not there the men fired several shots at a Renault Clio and a horse trailer. No one was hurt. In 18 months, the Real IRA and other dissident groups have shot up to two dozen people in Derry city alone in a series of so-called "punishment attacks". The Real IRA also murdered Kieran Doherty in the city, one of its former members whom they accused of working for MI5 – a charge angrily denied by his family. Last week, the Real IRA told the Guardian they had come under pressure within working-class nationalist communities across the north of Ireland to carry out "punishment attacks", which are also designed to challenge the police support and authority within republican areas.