Two RUC officers and a young woman were injured last night in a gun attack on a polling station in Co Derry. A single gunman opened fire on police on duty outside St Mary's Primary School in Draperstown. The three people who were wounded are recovering in hospital. Their injuries are understood not to be life-threatening.
An RUC spokeswoman said that police returned fire with one shot.
Two men were reported to have been arrested in a security sweep early this morning.
The shooting took place at about 9.45 p.m., 15 minutes before voting in the North's Westminster and local government elections ended. Thousands of people had earlier voted at the school, which was being used as a polling station.
A gunman stepped out of a silver Volkswagen Passat and opened fire on police who were on duty. Two RUC officers were injured, one in the arm and one in the shoulder, and a young woman was wounded in the leg. The gunman then got back into the car, which sped off.
The shooting was condemned by the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, who said that those responsible had shown their "total contempt for democracy".
Dissident republicans are believed to have been responsible for the attack. It is the first time that they have injured members of the security forces in a gun attack. Up to now they have concentrated their efforts on bomb and mortar attacks.
Suspicion has fallen on the "Real IRA", which has been active in the area, but security sources said that Continuity IRA involvement could not be ruled out.
Security sources had warned of a "Real IRA" attack on the British mainland or in the North during the Westminster election campaign. They said they were "deeply worried" by last night's attack, which signified that militant republicans were stepping up their campaign. "These people are not just looking for publicity, they are aiming to kill", said one source.
The "Real IRA" declared a ceasefire after the Omagh bombing, but the group has carried out dozens of attacks in the past year, including a mortar attack on the MI6 headquarters in London last September.
Ed Power writes: The "Real IRA" has been blamed for a number of attacks on security targets in the North and on mainland Britain this year.
The organisation is believed to have been behind a no-warning bombing near Derry Courthouse on May 18th. The 2kg device partially detonated, but nobody was injured.
Breakaway republicans carried out a mortar attack on a British army barracks in Bessbrook, Co Armagh, on May 15th. The mortar, fired from a van, landed short of its target and failed to explode.
The "Real IRA" is thought to have planted a bomb which detonated outside an unmanned RUC station at Sion Mills, Co Tyrone, early on May 1st.
Dissidents were also blamed for a grenade attack on an RUC station at Strand Road in Derry on April 11th.
Several high-profile attacks on targets on the British mainland raised fears that the "Real IRA" would launch a bombing campaign in the run-up to the Westminster elections.
A bomb exploded outside the BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, west London, on March 4th. The blast caused substantial structural damage but nobody was injured.
A no-warning attack on a post office depot in London on April 16th was described by police as an Easter "calling card" from the "Real IRA". A device containing several pounds of high explosive detonated outside Hendon depot near the busy Edgeware Road. There were no injuries.