Police in the North said they believed they had prevented a murder attempt in an operation that led to the arrests of six men in west Belfast.
An RUC spokesman said officers were suspicious of two cars in Canmore Street in the Shankill Road area of Belfast at about 10.40 p.m. on Wednesday. They chased the occupants of the vehicles on foot, and all six were arrested in Nelson Court.
In follow-up searches on Wednesday night and yesterday morning firearms, ammunition and paramilitary attire were taken away for forensic examination. It is believed the men were members of the UVF. One of the weapons was of a sort never before seen in paramilitary hands in the North, causing speculation that loyalists have been rearming.
In a separate find, bomb-making equipment including 1 1/2 kilos of commercial explosive and detonator cord were recovered in the Shankill area. The find was linked to the UDA/UFF.
Security has been stepped up as a result of the two finds and of the murder of Mr Sam Rockett on Wednesday night. Soldiers have been on the streets since Monday night but last night began foot patrols in loyalist estates.
In Ballymena, Co Antrim, petrol-bomb attacks were made on two houses connected with members of the Progressive Unionist Party, the political wing of the UVF.
A woman in a house in Queen Street escaped from her blazing home and was treated in hospital for the effects of smoke inhalation. It is believed the intended target was the house next door, which belongs to a PUP member. It was also petrol-bombed and there was slight damage.
A third house, in Paradise Avenue, was hit by a petrol-bomb and received minor damage. It is believed to be the home of a leading loyalist who supports the PUP.