The proxy bomb (also known as a human bomb) was a tactic used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) for a short time in the early 1990s, whereby people were forced to drive car bombs into British military targets. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the A car bomb is an explosive device placed in a car or other Vehicle and then detonated. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It has also been used in Colombia by FARC rebels. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo also known by the Acronym of ^[1] The tactic has been compared to a suicide bomb, although the bomber in these cases was coerced rather than being a volunteer. This article is about suicide attacks for political and/or military reasons ^[2]

Contents 1 First proxy bomb 2 Other proxy bombs 3 Effect of the tactic 4 References

First proxy bomb

In late 1990 the IRA Army Council gave approval for what was to be the first of a series of proxy bomb attacks. The IRA Army Council is the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA a Paramilitary group dedicated to bringing The plan was to kidnap a member of the British security forces or a British Army sympathiser, hold their family hostage and force the kidnapped person to take explosives to a target.

In the early hours of 24 October 1990 armed and masked IRA members (volunteers) took the family of Patrick "Patsy" Gillespie hostage. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol, is a term used by a number of Irish republican Paramilitary organisations to describe their members Gillespie was a Catholic who worked as a cook for the British Army and so was seen by the IRA as a collaborator and legitimate target. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces.

The IRA forced him to drive a car loaded with 1,000 pounds of explosives to the British Army checkpoint at Coshquin on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. When he arrived at the checkpoint the bomb was detonated by remote control, killing Gillespie and five soldiers from the Kings Regiment. The King's Regiment, abbreviated as 1 KINGS and often referred to as 1st King's or King's, was an Infantry Regiment of the

At Gillespie's funeral Bishop Edward Daly said the IRA and its supporters were ". Edward Daly (b December 5 1933, Belleek County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland) was the Catholic Bishop of Derry . . the complete contradiction of Christianity. They may say they are followers of Christ. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " Some of them may even still engage in the hypocrisy of coming to church, but their lives and their works proclaim clearly that they follow Satan. Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally "^[3]

Other proxy bombs

On the same day, there were two other proxy bomb attacks in Northern Ireland. In one, a 65 year old ex-UDR man, James McEvoy was forced to drive a bomb into a British Army checkpoint outside Newry. Newry ( short form An tIúr, "The Yew" is the fourth largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth on the island of Ireland. He managed to jump clear at the last moment, suffering a broken leg, but Ranger Cyril J. Smith QGM aged 21 from B. The Queen's Gallantry Medal ( QGM) is the third level Civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. Coy. 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Rangers was killed and thirteen were injured. The Royal Irish Rangers 27th (Inniskilling 83rd and 87th (abbreviated as "R IRISH" was a regular Infantry Regiment of the British Army Smith was posthumously awarded the QGM as he attempted to warn his colleagues about the bomb rather than running for cover. ^[4]

In another attack on Lisanelly Army base in Omagh, the proxy bomber was strapped into the car to keep him from escaping, while his wife and children were held hostage. Omagh (pronounced /'omæ/) is the County town of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen However, the bomb failed to explode. ^[5]

There were a few more attacks like these in the next month the last one being a failed attempt to destroy a checkpoint at Rosslea, County Fermanagh, on 21 December. Rosslea (or Roslea; Ros Liath in Irish) is a small Village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, close to the border with County Fermanagh (fɚr'mænɘ Contae Fhear Manach or Fear Manach ('Men of Monach'in Irish) is the westernmost of the six counties that form Northern Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian ^[6] The same checkpoint was the subject of a heavy machine gun attack a week later. ^[7] Another proxy bomb wrecked a UDR base in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, in early February 1991, but there were no fatalities. Magherafelt ( is a Town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. ^[8] The proxy bomb tactic caused some outrage in both the unionist and nationalist communities. Unionism in Ireland, is a belief in the desirability of a full constitutional and institutional relationship between Ireland and Great Britain based on the terms and Irish nationalism (Náisiúnachas Éireannach refers to political and sociological movements and sentiment that embodies a love for Irish ancestry, culture and language and In spite of this, there were a few more attacks before the tactic was stopped. The final IRA use of proxy bombs came on 24 April 1993, when they forced two London taxi drivers to drive bombs towards Downing Street and New Scotland Yard. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Downing Street is the street in London, England, which for over two hundred years has contained the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers New Scotland Yard or Scotland Yard, informally known as The Yard and NSY, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible There were no casualties, however, as the drivers managed to shout warnings and to abandon their cars in time. A conventionally delivered bomb was detonated by the IRA on the same day in the financial centre of Bishopsgate in central London. The Bishopsgate bombing occurred on 24 April 1993 when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA detonated a Truck bomb in London's financial district See Bishopsgate Insurance for the Australian insurance company bankrupted in 1982

Effect of the tactic

Overall the proxy bomb tactic had the result of discrediting the IRA's campaign in the eyes of Republicans and the nationalist community. From 1969 until 1997 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA conducted an armed Paramilitary campaign in the United Kingdom, aimed at ending British According to journalist and author Ed Moloney, 'as an operation calculated to undermine the IRA's armed struggle, alienate even its most loyal supporters and damage Sinn Féin politically, it had no equal'. Ed Moloney (born Edmund is an Irish journalist and author best known for his coverage of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and particularly the activities ^[9] Given this reaction, which might have been anticipated, two theories have so far appeared to explain why the PIRA employed this tactic.

Moloney has suggested that the tactic may have been calculated to weaken the position of alleged "hawks" in republicanism – those who favoured armed action over electoral politics. At the same time Moloney argues that the widespread public revulsion would have strengthened the position of those in the IRA such as Gerry Adams who were considering how Republicanism could abandon violence and focus on electoral politics. Gerry Adams, MLA, MP (Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh born 6 October 1948 is an Irish Republican politician and abstentionist Westminster Peter Taylor wrote of the proxy bombs that, by such actions and the revulsion they caused in the community, the IRA inadvertently strengthened the hand of those within the Republican movement who argued that an alternative to armed struggle had to be found. Peter Taylor is the name of Peter Taylor Baron Taylor of Gosforth (1930-1997 Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1992 to 1997 ^[10]

The second theory alleges British Security forces collusion in the attacks, and the deliberate promotion of the tactic by Martin McGuinness who, it is claimed, was working as an agent for the British. James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (Máirtín Mag Aonghusa born in Derry on 23 May 1950 is the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. This theory surfaced in mid 2006 when a former operative with the covert Force Research Unit, Martin Ingram, publicly endorsed what he claimed was a transcript of a secretly recorded conversation between McGuinness and his alleged handler in which the tactic is supposedly discussed. Force Research Unit ( FRU) is alleged to be a name used by a covert Military intelligence unit established by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence Martin Ingram is the Pseudonym of an ex- British Army soldier who served in the Intelligence Corps and Force Research Unit (FRU McGuinness has denied the claim.

References

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