IRA blamed for Kingsmills atrocity
The IRA has been blamed for one of the worst atrocities of Northern Ireland’s Troubles – the massacre of ten Protestant workmen, gunned down on their way home from work in the south Armagh village of Kingsmills in 1976.
UTV has obtained a leaked version of a report drawn up into what happened, which includes the startling revelation that one of the gunmen is suspected of playing a key role in the Omagh bombing.
Finally completed following an investigation by the Historical Enquiries Team, the 108-page final report is due to be published next week.
Victims’ campaigner Willie Frazer, who knows the Kingsmills families, says it is vital they get the truth.
“Because we’ve actually known some of the things for quite a number of years,” he said. “But it’s like everything else, it’s a myth until you actually see it in black and white.”
The men were forced at gunpoint to reveal their religion. They were lined up, flasks and lunchboxes still in their hands, and shot dead.
One man hit 18 times survived.
According to investigators, the guns themselves had been used many times before – in 37 murders, 22 attempted murders and 19 non-fatal shootings.
The report also lists failing by the small 12-man RUC team that investigated the killings, detailing how they failed to trace and interview a number of potential witnesses.
Up to a dozen gunmen were involved in the Kingsmills shootings and by December 1976, all were living in the Republic.
In 2002, a key suspect was stopped at Heathrow. Despite still being on a wanted list, he was allowed to continue on his journey.
A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force said it carried out the Kingsmills attack. That was widely believed to be a cover-name for the IRA.
The report says there is evidence that the IRA unit was not well disposed towards central co-ordination, but that there is no excuse in that.
The victims’ families will give their response to the findings on Tuesday.
