Police given more time to question gun suspects

Police have been given more time to question five men who were stopped in a car in west Belfast shortly after a paramilitary style attack.

The police seized two guns when the car was searched on the Falls Road on Thursday night

A magistrate in Antrim has granted police an additional 72 hours to question them.

Officers stopped the car after an incident a few minutes earlier on St James Road.  It is understood a man was the target of a so-called punishment shooting in a house. It is believed that although a shot was fired, he was not injured.  The arrests took place during a police follow-up operation.

Dissident republican paramilitaries have been responsible for a series of similar shootings.

Army bomb disposal experts were called to examine the car that had been stopped.

Source:  BBC News Online

Release Date - 26 Jul 2010