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March 20, 1989, Monday, P.M. Final

Part A; Page 1; Column 1; Late Final Desk

118 words

WORLD;

2 ROYAL ULSTER OFFICERS FOUND SLAIN

From Times staff and wire service reports

BELFAST, Northern Ireland

Two policemen, one a high-ranking officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, were found shot to death today near the border with the Irish Republic, bringing this year's death toll in Northern Ireland to 26.

The bodies of the two men were found in County Armagh in an unmarked car only yards from the border at the Catholic village of Jonesborough, police said. A spokesman at constabulary headquarters said no further details were available. He could not explain why the officers, believed to be in civilian clothes, were in the area described as "bandit country" by Merlyn Rees, former secretary of state for Northern Ireland. He would not confirm if the two dead officers had been working undercover.

Brief