Lax security at a military barracks in Northern Ireland meant two soldiers were able to leave the gates without protection before they were shot and killed by the Real IRA, a court heard yesterday.
Patrick Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23, both sappers for 38 Engineer Regiment, were shot at the gates of Massereene Barracks on 7 March 2009 when they went to collect pizzas.
They were the first soldiers to be killed in Northern Ireland since 1997.
Dissident republican groups claimed responsibility for the incident and the murder of PC Stephen Carroll two days later.
Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers are on trial under heavy security at Antrim Crown Court for the murder of Azimkar and Quinsey, and the attempted murder of other soldiers and a Dominos Pizza delivery driver.
Duffy and Shivers were arrested after DNA evidence was recovered from a partially-burned car some seven miles from the base.
An audio clip was also found on a mobile phone in the car. The message was played in court, and in it a male voice was heard to say: "There were a few dead all right." In another excerpt the message read: "have to say boys you were as cool as f**k."
Footage was also shown at the trial of the "chilling" moment Azimkar and Quinsey were shot and killed by two masked men wielding automatic weapons.
The gunmen fired more than 60 rounds, the court heard, sending the soldiers running and diving to the ground. The gunmen then shot the soldiers again, "undoubtedly to ensure they were dispatched" said Terence Mooney, QC for the prosecution.
Mooney said that the gunmen carried out surveillance of the base and knew that the soldiers would be unprotected when collecting the pizzas. The attack bore "the unmistakeable stamp of a ruthless terrorist organisation", he said.
"There were flaws in the system," he added. "Soldiers would pay individually so they would have to go to the gates. There would be disputes over the order. The system exposed soldiers at the main gates for some time. By the time of these offences, security at the gates had become lax."
The Telegraph reported that the families of the dead soldiers wore remembrance poppies in court, while the friends of the accused sitting opposite did not. Some refused to stand when the judge entered the court.