The Provisional IRA is believed to have been responsible for the shooting and brutal beating of a 22-year-old man who was attacked as he slept with his family in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, early yesterday. He was beaten, shot four times, and then beaten again in the so-called "punishment" attack.
The victim is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
Several masked men broke into his home at Woodbourne Crescent at around 5 a.m. as he lay sleeping with his partner. They beat him with baseball bats and a hammer.
He was then shot in the right elbow, right leg, and thighs. He suffered a fractured skull and multiple bruising.
His partner, Ms Yolanda Hamilton, suffered minor injuries to her knee and ankle as she tried to drag the men off him. The couple's four-month-old daughter was lying in a cot beside the bed as the attack took place.
Ms Hamilton's son Lee (6) was in another bedroom. "He was so frightened, he hid under his bed." she said. "They started beating my boyfriend with baseball bats and a sledgehammer. They shot him and then they beat him again. It was a terrifying experience. At one time, I thought he was dead. There was so much shouting going on."
It is understood the victim was one of several men ordered to leave the North by the Provisional IRA last year. However, he returned for the birth of his daughter.
Ms Hamilton denied he had been involved in any "anti-social activities". She said no reason had been given for his "expulsion" last year and no reason was given by his assailants for yesterday's attack.
Sources in Dungannon said there was no doubt the Provisional IRA was responsible. SDLP councillor Mr Vincent Currie said: "This was an act of barbarism and extreme cruelty. These people weren't content with beating their victim with baseball bats. They had to use hammers. And they weren't content with even that. They had to shoot him, too. There can be no justification for such a vicious attack."
Meanwhile, a young Catholic family have said they are leaving their home in Larne, Co Antrim, after two sectarian attacks in two days.
In the latest attack, a nail bomb was thrown at the house in Sallagh Park. On Sunday night, their car was petrol-bombed.
The couple, who live with their two-year-old son, said it was the fifth sectarian attack on their home in two years.
The father, who did not wish to be named, said the attacks were "blatantly sectarian" and that other Catholic families in the estate were also being intimidated.
SDLP representative Mr Martin Wilson said: "This is a form of ethnic cleansing. I would like to see unionist representatives condemn it along with Protestant church leaders."
The attack was condemned as "an act of blatant bigotry and sectarianism" by Alliance leader Mr Sean Neeson.
"This family have been picked upon simply because of their religion. It shows the urgent need to not only address republican paramilitary weaponry but that of loyalists as well."
UUP MP Mr Roy Beggs said there was no excuse for attacking the family. He said all law-abiding people in the town must unite behind the RUC "in its endeavours to ensure that Larne remains a peaceful, tolerant community".
Meanwhile, a 21-year-old man suffered a broken arm and leg in a "punishment" attack in Lisburn, Co Antrim. He was dragged behind a Salvation Army hall in Rushmore Drive and beaten with baseball bats. Loyalist paramilitaries are believed to have been responsible.