A 20-year-old man has been injured in a "punishment" attack in a nationalist area of Belfast. The Provisional IRA is believed to have been responsible, according to local sources.
The victim was dragged from his home at Ardcaoin Green in the Poleglass area of west Belfast. He was taken to an alleyway by several masked men on Monday night and shot in the ankle.
Three men have now been shot and one badly beaten in nationalist areas of the North in recent days. The Provisional IRA is believed to have been involved in all the incidents.
A 20-year-old man was shot in Strabane, Co Tyrone, on Sunday night. He was dragged from a house in the nationalist Iona Villas area of the town by several masked men and shot once in the left leg.
On Friday, a 30-year-old man was found lying in the car-park of a public house in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. He had gunshot wounds to both legs. In Derry on Monday, a man was dragged from his car at gunpoint in the Creggan. He was beaten with pickaxe handles by a group of masked men.
After the assault, they threw a petrol bomb into his car, setting it alight. The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, called for an end to "punishment" attacks later that day. He said his party was opposed to them and there were more humane ways to resolve issues.