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IRA renegades are feared to have a devastating new weapon - a machine-gun dubbed the Sweetie that can blast aircraft from the sky. The monster Russian DShk fires 600 12mm shells a minute and has a range of a mile. Security sources suspect breakaway terrorists will use it to step up violence in Ulster.
Senior Tory MP Patrick Mercer, who served in the Army in the province, said: "This is a very worrying development."Dissidents clearly intend a savage and lethal attack against barracks, vehicles or police patrols." The weapon - called the Sweetie or Dushka by Russian troops - is mounted on a tripod or wheels. It was designed for anti-aircraft use. But weapons expert Mike Yardley said: "A man hit by a round from it would be literally blown to pieces - he would have absolutely no chance."
It is thought the gun - probably supplied originally by Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi - was stolen from a Provisional IRA arms dump before weapons were decommissioned. An Army Lynx chopper shot down near the Irish border in 1990 is thought to have been hit by a Sweetie. Ulster gunmen have killed two British soldiers and a cop this year.
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