A British army solider was tonight being questioned about the attempted murder of a 14-year-old boy in a stabbing in Belfast.
He was one of three men detained by police after the teenager was stabbed a number of times in a vicious attack.
The teenager remains in hospital in a serious condition after undergoing emergency surgery following the attack in east Belfast in the early hours of Saturday.
Police, who only revealed the incident today, said the boy suffered a serious wound to his abdomen and other wounds to his chest and legs.
The attack, said a police spokesman, took place at the Laburnum playing fields near Prince Regent Road at around 5 a.m. Despite blood pouring from his extensive injuries, the teenager managed to escape and under cover of darkness made his way a short distance to Picardy Avenue where he was found by police and taken to hospital.
The British army confirmed: "A member of the armed forces is among those helping police with their inquiries". A spokesman declined to say which regiment the solider belonged to or whether he was on or off duty at the time of the incident.
Police said they were treating the stabbing as attempted murder. It was not thought to have either a sectarian or racial motive, a spokesman added.
The Police Service appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area in the early hours of Saturday to contact them. Local East Belfast Ulster Unionist councillor Mr Jim Rodgers condemned the attack.
He said: "I'm absolutely appalled that a schoolboy has been attacked in this way. "There are far too many knifing incidents in not just the city of Belfast but the length and breadth of Northern Ireland. "My thoughts are with the young boy and his family and I hope he makes a fully and speedy recovery."