THE IRA said last night that it had murdered a soldier who was shot by

a sniper in Northern Ireland earlier in the day.

The unmarried private in his early-20s died from a single shot fired

while he was on foot patrol in the centre of the village of Keady, south

Armagh.

It was the latest in a series of one-shot killings carried out by the

IRA since March 1990 in which eight soldiers and policemen have died.

The killing came as John Major and his Irish counterpart Albert

Reynolds prepared for a tough meeting on the Irish peace process in

Dublin today and as the war of words between the British Government and

Sinn Fein deepened.

Sinn Fein's president Gerry Adams described the soldier's death as

regrettable.

A bomb exploded later in Belfast but no one was hurt.

Claims scorned3

Two brave faces13