Leading Loyalist shot in Belfast

A leading loyalist figure was critically injured in a shooting at a taxicab office on the Crumlin road yesterday in the most serious of a series of violent incidents in north Belfast.

The man, who has been named locally as Jackie Mahood, was shot several times by gunmen who went to an office on the first floor of the premises of the "Call A Cab" firm and singled him out shortly after 5pm. The gunmen entered and left the building by a rear door.

Mr Mahood was rushed to a local hospital with wounds to the head and neck. Police took a security video away from the premises for examination, RUC Assistant Chief Constable Bill Stewart describing the shooting as "a senseless act".

Responsibility for the incident was not immediately clear. The office is an area which is easily accessible to republican groups, but there were also suspicions that the attack could have sprung from internal loyalist feuding and unrest.

There have recently been rumblings of disagreement both within and between the two main loyalist paramilitary groupings, the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association. Such discord has in the past often produced eruptions of violence.

Earlier this week loyalists thought to be associated with the UDA went on the rampage in the same area in response to the RUC's action in arresting a prominent figure during a murder investigation. Petrol bombings and hijackings took place during a one-hour period in a clearly coordinated wave of protests.