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Continuity IRA claims responsibility for killing of David Byrne at boxing match weigh-in | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Dissident republicans have claimed they murdered a man during the weigh-in for a boxing match - and have promised to kill "more drug dealers and criminals". | |
The Continuity IRA said they ordered the killing of David Byrne by a six-man gang – some armed with Kalashnikov rifles and dressed in Swat team uniforms – at the Regency Hotel in Dublin on Friday. | |
In a statement released to the BBC, the Continuity IRA reportedly claimed Byrne, 33, from Crumlin in Dublin, was singled out as a reprisal for the killing of Real IRA leader Alan Ryan in the Irish capital in September 2012. | |
At the time of Ryan’s killing, it was reported that his faction of the Real IRA had become embroiled in a feud with major gangland criminals. | |
The republican faction – which is said to be responsible extorting money from criminal gangs in the Republic – said that drug dealers and criminals were also on their hit list. | |
The BBC quoted the Continuity IRA spokesman as saying: "This will not be an isolated incident. | |
"Continuity IRA units have been authorised to carry out further operations. More drug dealers and criminals will be targeted. | |
"The Continuity IRA will carry out further military operations." | |
About 300 people were in the hotel when the gang struck, including families with children, boxing fans and a small number of members of the media. | |
They were attending a weigh-in for a title fight in Belfast, billed 'Clash of the Clans', between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Jao Bento, which was subsequently cancelled. | |
Two other men were injured in the shooting while a number of bystanders and workers were either threatened at gunpoint or fled. | |
Additional reporting by Press Association |