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On 15 June 1988 an unmarked military van carrying six British Army soldiers was blown up by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Market Place in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The explosion took place at the end of a charity marathon run in which the soldiers had participated. All six soldiers were killed in the attack - four outright, one on his way to hospital and another later on in hospital. Lisburn is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland. Four of the dead were from the Royal Corps of Signals regiment whilst the other two were from the Green Howards and Royal Army Ordnance Corps regiments respectively. A booby-trap bomb was hidden under the Ford Transit van in which the soldiers were travelling, and was designed in such a way that the blast went upwards to cause maximum damage to the vehicle. Eleven civilian bystanders were injured, including a two-year-old child and 80-year-old man. The bombing is sometimes referred to as the Lisburn "Fun Run" bombing.〔("Bomb at Northern Ireland 'Fun Run' Kills 5 Soldiers, Hurts 10". ''Los Angeles Times''. 16 June 1988 ) Retrieved 20 February 2012〕 ==Bombing== On Wednesday 15 June 1988 at 8.50 p.m., an unmarked blue Ford Transit van carrying six off-duty British soldiers in civilian clothes drove off from a leisure centre carpark in Lisburn. The soldiers had just taken part in the "Lisburn Fun Run", a charity half marathon held in the town. They had left the van unattended in the carpark, which was the start and finish point for the run. It was there that an IRA Active Service Unit (ASU), who had been following the van, hid a booby-trap bomb underneath the vehicle.〔(Lisburn (Murder of Soldiers) Hansard parliamentary debate, 16 June 1988 )〕 The half marathon and shorter "fun runs" were organised by Lisburn Borough Council, together with the YMCA, to raise funds for the handicapped. There were 4,500 participants that day and at least 200 British Army personnel had been given leave to participate in the event.〔〔("After Bombing, Review of Ulster Security". ''New York Times''. Steve Lohr. 17 June 1988 ) Retrieved 20 February 2012〕 Nine minutes later, the van stopped at traffic lights at Market Place, in Lisburn's town centre. As the van moved on, the booby-trap bomb detonated, turning the van into a massive fireball and instantly killing four of the soldiers as the vehicle disintegrated with the force of the blast. The Semtex device had been designed in a cone shape to channel the blast upwards, thereby causing maximum damage to the vehicle and the soldiers inside. The area around Market Place was crowded with onlookers, including many teenagers and families with young children, although the biggest crowd was at the carpark. In all, about 10,000 onlookers had attended the charity run.〔"Police Hope Snapshots May Give Clue to Identity of IRA Bombers". ''Glasgow Herald''. 18 June 1988. p.3〕〔Hurley, Mark Joseph (1990). ''Blood on the shamrock: an American ponders Northern Ireland, 1968-1990''. P. Lang, p. 146. ISBN 0-8204-1262-7〕 There was pandemonium as frightened parents searched for their children, whilst others rushed to give aid to the dead and dying soldiers before fire engines and ambulances arrived. Eleven civilian bystanders were injured in the attack, including a two-year-old child and an 80-year-old man.〔 Another soldier died on the way to hospital whilst a sixth soldier died later that night after undergoing surgery for severe head injuries. The dead soldiers were stationed at Ebrington Barracks in Derry and were returning to base when the bomb went off. Four of the men – Sergeant Michael Winkler (31), Signalman Mark Clavey (24), Lance Corporal Graham Lambie (22), and Corporal William Patterson (22) – were from the Royal Signals regiment, whilst the other two – Corporal Ian Metcalf (36) and Lance Corporal Derek Green (20) – were from the Green Howards and Royal Army Ordnance Corps regiments respectively.〔〔CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths - 1988〕 Lisburn is a mainly Ulster Protestant town, southwest of Belfast. It serves as the garrison Headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland. Six months before the van bombing, a booby-trap bomb planted by the IRA killed Ulster Defence Association (UDA) leader John McMichael in the town. The van bombing resulted in the greatest loss of life suffered by the British Army since 11 soldiers were killed in the Droppin Well Disco bombing on 6 December 1982.〔 In Belfast, on the same day as the Lisburn attack, the IRA shot dead the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)'s east Belfast commander, Robert "Squeak" Seymour (33). This was retaliation for the UVF bombing of an Irish nationalist pub in which three Catholics died.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1988 Lisburn van bombing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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