Belleeks landmine attack

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Belleeks landmine attack
Part of the Troubles
Relief Map of Northern Ireland.png
Red pog.svg
Location Belleeks,
County Armagh,
Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°31′42″N7°12′39″W / 54.52833°N 7.21083°W / 54.52833; -7.21083 Coordinates: 54°31′42″N7°12′39″W / 54.52833°N 7.21083°W / 54.52833; -7.21083
Date31 March 1976
Target British Army soldiers
Attack type
Land mine
Weaponshigh powered explosives
Deaths3 British soldiers
Perpetrator Provisional IRA
South Armagh Brigade

The Belleeks landmine attack was a Provisional IRA (IRA) bomb attack on a British Army landrover that occurred on 31 March 1976 near the South Armagh village of Belleeks, killing three soldiers. [1] They were the first British soldiers to be killed by the IRA South Armagh Brigade since the 1975 truce with the British officially ended in early January 1976. [2] [3] [4]

Background

After the Reavey and O'Dowd killings, which happened on 4 January 1976, [5] & the Kingsmill massacre which happened a day later on 5 January, [6] in which a total of 16 civilians had been killed from these sectarian attacks, the British government decided to send the SAS into south Armagh a few days later. [7] Then the truce between the IRA & British was officially over. [4]

Bombing

On 31 March an IRA active service unit decided to attack a mobile patrol with a landmine using command wire; the explosives themselves were packed into milk churns. As the mobile patrol was crossing over Carrickgallogly bridge, the mine was detonated, destroying one of the British Army Land Rovers and killing three British soldiers. The soldiers killed were David Ferguson (20), Roderick Bannon (25) and John Pearson (23), who were all members of the Royal Scots regiment. [8] [9]

See also

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References

  1. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  2. https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/proni/1975/proni_CENT-1-3-40_1975-02-03.pdf
  3. "CAIN: New Year Releases 2006 - Public Records of 1975". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  4. 1 2 "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1976". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  5. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  6. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  7. Mark Urban Big Boys Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle against the IRA pp.xi
  8. Toby Harnden - Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh pp.345
  9. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1976". cain.ulster.ac.uk.