Tom Preier: "We oppose war of any kind"

Spokesman Thomas Preier told BBC News Online: "We are opposed to any kind of war.

"Each and every one of us is appalled at what happened in America. No-one would condone that.

"We feel very strongly we don't want any further bloodshed. The poor Afghan people would bear the brunt of any armed response. Half the population is already starving, there are seven million refugees and a huge crisis."

He claimed bombing would not solve anything.

"I don't think there's any such thing as a surgical strike or military targets without what they call collatoral damage.

"It's a horrible word for the loss of human life."

He said the alternative to war was to look at why America had been targeted in the first place.

Michael Reinsborough: "Need to address root cause"

"Really it is because of American policy in the Middle East. America's involvement in Palestine was absolutely atrocious," he said.

American Michael Reinsborough, who is originally from Maine - but now lives in Belfast - said many people living in the US were against military action.

"There's a huge peace movement in America pushing against this. Much of the world is upset at American foreign policy," he said.

"The news media in America does not report very strongly what the actual affects of American foreign policy are.

"I'm sure people in Kabul are terrified tonight of being bombed. If we are confronting terrorism with terror what does that say about an effective response."

Saddened

He said it was necessary to look at root causes of the problem.

"We're pumping weapons into countries around the world and supporting dictatorships that are positive for corporate business rather than looking at genuine human rights and long term causes."

Earlier, a prominent member of the Islamic community in Northern Ireland said many Muslims were saddened by the military action.

Mamoun Mobayed said they were concerned at the potential loss of life.

"The Muslim community in Northern Ireland is sharing the same feelings like many, many people around the world, that violence, whether it is in the form of terrorism or war, is painful and hurtful to so many people," he said.

However, Irish foreign minister Brian Cowen said Afghanistan's Taliban regime had brought the overnight air strikes on itself by failing to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Mr Cowen, who is currently chairing meetings of the United Nations Security Council, said Ireland supported the "multi-faceted" action intended to take out key Taleban military installations.