The World : 2 Belfast Slayings Probed

Two British soldiers killed by an angry mob in the midst of a funeral cortege for a victim of a Protestant attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland, had ignored orders to stay away from the route, the British army said. A spokesman said the army launched an investigation to determine why the victims, Cpls. Derek T. Wood, 24, and David R. Howes, 23, were driving by the procession, where they were attacked, stripped naked, beaten and fatally shot. The army said the two men had apparently taken a wrong turn that led them to the procession. It said it had ordered its personnel to stay away from the funeral to avoid a confrontation with Irish Republican Army guerrillas. The IRA took responsibility for the deaths.