BRITISH ARMY RESPONSE:THE TWO soldiers killed in the attack by dissident republicans in Co Antrim at the weekend were described by the most senior British officer in Northern Ireland as "magnificent individuals".
Brig George Norton also denied that more could and should have been done by armed guards at the entrance to Massareene barracks to protect the soldiers and to retaliate against the dissidents who carried out the killings.
Mark Quinsey (23) from Birmingham and Patrick “Pat” Azimkar (21) from Wood Green in London, both army engineers or “sappers”, died after they were struck by semi-automatic gunfire as they accepted deliveries of pizza at the entrance to their barracks.
They had been due to deploy with 25 Field Squadron, 38th Engineering Regiment, in Afghanistan on Sunday.
Their killers approached them and four others as they lay wounded on the ground after the first shots were fired. They were then shot again, before the attackers made their escape.
Two other soldiers remain serious but stable in hospital. Two civilians, one named locally as 19-year-old Anthony Watson and a 32-year-old Polish worker, are also being treated for serious injuries.
Brig Norton condemned the “callous and clinical” attack.
The soldiers “were off duty, they were unarmed, and they were dressed in desert combats to deploy overseas”.
“The military community in general is of course shocked by the brutality of the attack,” he said.
“We will continue to live in Northern Ireland as part of the community, as we have done since 2007 and as we do in Great Britain. We will not be deterred from our primary role of preparing and training for operations overseas,” he added.
Brig Norton defended the base guards who had not returned fire at the two dissident republican gunmen during the attack.
“Are you suggesting that people should have fired into a closely packed group, including my soldiers?” he asked.
The regiment to which the dead men belonged specialises in construction and communication projects when posted abroad.
Lieut Col Roger Lewis, commanding officer of the 38th Engineer Regiment, said the victims were “dedicated . . . full of energy”. “During training for our deployment to Afghanistan, Sapper Azimkar showed his true grit and determination, making absolutely certain that he was fully prepared for the exacting and demanding conditions to come,” he told the BBC.
He said Sapper Quinsey was a “charismatic and affable young soldier”.
“Sapper Quinsey was an outwardly calm, resolute and motivated young soldier. A social livewire and hugely popular across the regiment, he was rarely away from the centre of the action.”