Two British soldiers were shot dead in Northern Ireland on Saturday, with another 4 people seriously wounded.

The attack was carried out by suspected Irish Republican Army dissidents, raising fears that violence may be returning to the streets of Northern Ireland. The soldiers were the first to be killed there in 12 years.

Forensic officers search for evidence outside the entrance to the Massereene army base in County Antrim. [Peter Muhly/CCTV/AFP]

Unidentified gunmen first fired at the British soldiers from a car, as they picked up pizzas at the gate of an army base northwest of Belfast on Saturday evening. The assailants then walked up and shot and killed two soldiers as they lay on the ground.

4 other people, including two men delivering the pizzas, were also seriously wounded in the attack.

Politicians vowed the attack would not undermine more than a decade of progress, since a 1998 peace accord brought relative calm to this long-divided British territory.