The Strabane Ambush was a British

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

ambush against a three man Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit. All three members of the IRA unit were killed in the ambush. At the time it was the most successful SAS operation against the IRA, until the Loughgall ambush two years later in 1987 in which eight IRA

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

were killed.

Background

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

was one of the IRA's most deadly strongholds during The Troubles. IRA and

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ga, Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 10 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seek ...

Volunteers in Strabane carried out attack after attack against the British security forces; between 1971 and 1991 no fewer than 16 attacks were launched by Irish Republicans against British troops and RUC police which resulted in the death of at least one member of the British security forces in each of those attacks, the British Army and RUC bases in Strabane were constantly attacked with sniper fire, bombings, grenades, mortar attacks and RPG attacks. Strabane was once the most bombed town in Europe in proportion to its size, and was the most bombed town in Northern Ireland. A few weeks earlier in December 1984, the

(SAS) carried out two ambushes against the Provisional IRA Derry Brigade which killed four IRA volunteers, in the first in the Kesh ambush

Kieran Fleming Kieran or Ciarán Fleming (born 25 October 1959 – 2 December 1984), was a volunteer in the 4th Battalion, Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from the Waterside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. He died while att ...

and another IRA volunteer was killed, four days later Kieran's cousin William Fleming and Danny Doherty were killed in another ambush.Lost Lives, 2007 edition, p. 1002,

Ambush

On the 23 February 1985, an IRA active service unit while returning weapons or bringing new weapons to an arms cache in Plumbridge Road in

were suddenly ambushed by British Army SAS unit and all three IRA volunteers were killed on the spot. Local witness said they heard that no warning to surrender was given by the SAS as the men entered a field which is when the SAS unit fired over 100 rounds at the Volunteers killing them instantly. The IRA volunteers killed at Strabane were unit

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Charles Breslin (21) and Michael Devine (22) and his brother David Devine (16). David Devine was the youngest IRA volunteer killed in the conflict.

Aftermath

This ambush was the first in a number of high-profile SAS and undercover soldier ambushes and operations between 1985 – 1992 especially targeting the IRA's units around the Fermanagh, Tyrone & Armagh borders. A year later the IRA's Fermanagh commander

Séamus McElwaine Séamus Turlough McElwaine (also spelt Seamus McElwain; 1 April 1960 – 26 April 1986) was a volunteer in the South Fermanagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles who was shot dead by the British Army. Ea ...

was killed during an ambush, and in 1987 eight IRA volunteers from the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade were killed in the Loughgall ambush, in 1988 three IRA Volunteers were killed during Operation Flavius in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, in August of the same year three more IRA men were killed in the

Ambush at Drumnakilly The Ambush at Drumnakilly was a military confrontation that took place at Drumnakilly in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland on 30 August 1988 during The Troubles, when a detachment of the Provisional IRA (IRA) was ambushed by the British Army. Ba ...

, in 1991 three more volunteers were killed in the

Coagh ambush The Coagh ambush was a military confrontation that took place in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on 3 June 1991, during The Troubles, when a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) active service unit from its East Tyrone Brigade was ambushed ...

and finally in February 1992 the

Clonoe ambush The Clonoe Ambush was a military action between the British Army and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) that occurred during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 16 February 1992, an IRA unit attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary se ...

four IRA volunteers were killed.

Background

Ambush

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading