The New IRA has admitted responsibility for the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry and apologised to her family.
Miss McKee, 29, died after she was shot on the Creggan estate on Thursday, April 18.
In a statement given to The Irish News using a recognised code word, the group offered its "full and sincere apologies" to her family and friends.
The New IRA is an amalgam of armed groups opposed to the peace process and it recently claimed responsibility for parcel bombs sent to London and Glasgow in March.
Police believe the violence was orchestrated in response to an earlier search by officers aimed at averting imminent trouble associated with this week's anniversary of the Easter Rising that led to the independence of the Republic of Ireland.
The statement said: "On Thursday night following an incursion on the Creggan by heavily armed British crown forces which provoked rioting, the IRA deployed our volunteers to engage.
"We have instructed our volunteers to take the utmost care in future when engaging the enemy, and put in place measures to help ensure this.
"In the course of attacking the enemy Lyra McKee was tragically killed while standing beside enemy forces.
"The IRA offer our full and sincere apologies to the partner, family and friends of Lyra McKee for her death."
