The RUC is investigating a suspected paramilitary-type "punishment" beating after a man was attacked in his flat in Bushmills, Co Antrim, by four masked men.
The man, in his 20s, needed stitches for a head wound and suffered multiple bruising and cuts after being beaten with iron bars and cudgels by his attackers, who forced their way into his flat in Woodlands Court on Monday night.
In a separate incident about one hour later, two men were attacked by several masked men, armed with a handgun and a baseball bat, who burst into a house in Ardes Drive, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. Loyalists are believed to have been responsible for both incidents.