IRA Man Shot as He Lay Wounded, 2 British Soldiers Say

Two of the British soldiers who killed three unarmed IRA members in March told a coroner’s inquest Thursday that they shot one of the guerrillas several times in the head as the man lay wounded on the ground.

A member of British Special Air Services identified only as “Soldier C” said he shot IRA guerrilla Sean Savage repeatedly “to make sure he could make no movement to activate” a car bomb.

The Irish Republican Army has acknowledged that Savage, 24, Mairead Farrell, 31, and Daniel McCann, 31, were on a mission when members of the anti-terrorism unit killed them here on March 6. A senior British intelligence officer has testified that the soldiers believed the three were armed and were planning to detonate a car bomb.

The testimony of Soldier C came on the eighth day of a coroner’s inquest that is to determine whether the soldiers were justified in killing the unarmed guerrillas.

“We were certain within our own minds that we took the right action,” said Soldier C, who for security reasons was hidden from public view by a curtain. Soldier D told the inquest that he joined in the shooting of the wounded man.

Glasgow University pathologist Alan Watson testified Sept. 8 that Savage was shot 18 times.