IRA Bombs Kill 6, Hurt 27 in Spree of Revenge Attacks
The IRA took bloody revenge today for the shooting of one of its top gunmen, killing six British soldiers and injuring 27 other people in bomb attacks on Northern Ireland security posts.
Adopting a deadly new tactic, Irish Republican Army guerrillas forced civilians to drive vehicles loaded with primed explosives to security checkpoints in Londonderry and near the border town of Newry.
The posts were devastated by the blasts.
The man who drove the bomb-laden car to the Londonderry checkpoint was missing and feared dead after the blast, police said.
A third similar operation near an army camp at Omagh failed when a man, who had been strapped to the seat of the car by IRA gunmen and forced to drive it to the target, wriggled free.
The detonator went off but failed to trigger the main bomb in the car.
The predawn attacks inflicted the heaviest casualties this year in Northern Ireland on British forces and amounted to a major coup for the IRA.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
