Man shot dead in Belfast

A man was shot dead in front of his family in a gun attack in west Belfast last night. Police said the 30-year-old man died when what appeared to be a shotgun was fired through the window of his house in the republican Norglen Parade area.

The RUC said it was too early to know what was the motive behind the killing, but the murder follows two in the week before Christmas and another earlier in the month.

Those murders were claimed by a previously unknown group - Direct Action Against Drugs - who warned that more people were to be targeted. It is believed to be a cover name for the IRA.