|
Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrose were Australian tourists shot dead in the Netherlands by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 27 May 1990, which claimed to have mistaken them for off-duty British soldiers. The attack was part of an IRA campaign in mainland Europe. ==Background== British military personnel had been stationed in West Germany since the end of World War II. The Provisional IRA had been carrying out attacks in mainland Europe since 1979. Between 1988 and 1990 it intensified its operations there. On 1 May 1988, three members of the Royal Air Force (RAF) were killed in two IRA attacks in the Netherlands. One of the attacks took place in Roermond. In August, a British sergeant-major was shot dead at Ostend, Belgium.〔(Malcolm Sutton's Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 1988 ). Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)〕 In June 1989, a British base in Osnabrück was bombed and the following month a British soldier was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb in Hanover.〔(Malcolm Sutton's Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 1989 ), CAIN.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 6 August 2014.〕 Cars owned by British military personnel in Germany had distinctive licence plates, which helped the IRA identify targets.〔(Secret squad sent in to track down IRA killers ), ''Glasgow Herald'', May 3, 1988〕 〔("IRA ATTACK BRINGS CALL FOR CHANGES" ). ''The Miami Herald'', 3 May 1988; retrieved 8 March 2013.〕 In August 1988, following the killing of the three RAF members, they were replaced with standard British licence plates.〔("BRITAIN HOPES NEW AUTO PLATES WILL COUNTER ATTACKS BY IRA" ). ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', 24 August 1988. Retrieved 8 March 2013.〕〔("IRA guerrillas kill Navy officer" ). ''Lewiston Daily Sun'', 24 August 1988; retrieved 8 March 2013.〕 Critics of the move warned that British tourists would be at risk as their cars would be indistinguishable from soldiers' cars.〔 On 7 September 1989 German civilian Heidi Hazell, the wife of a British soldier, was shot dead as she sat in a car outside a British Army married quarter in Unna.〔 The car had British licence plates.〔("I.R.A. Gunman Kills Wife of a Briton" ), ''The New York Times'', 9 September 1989; retrieved 4 March 2013.〕 The IRA expressed regret for the death and claimed she had been shot "in the belief that she was a member of the British army garrison at Dortmund".〔〔("Woman's Killing A Mistake, IRA Says" ). ''Los Angeles Times'', 9 September 1989; retrieved 4 March 2013.〕 On 28 October 1989, IRA members opened fire on the car〔 of RAF corporal Mick Islania. The corporal had just returned to the car from a petrol station snack bar〔Operation Banner 1969-2007, (Roll of Honour ); retrieved 5 March 2013. Quote: "Maheshkumar was a member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) when killed. The brief circumstances of the death are as follows: ''Shot during gun attack on his family car, Wildenrath, West Germany. His 6 month old daughter (Nivruti Mahesh Islania) was also killed from a single shot during the IRA attack. His wife survived the attack physically uninjured, but in great shock. Mahesh (known to colleagues as Mick) was a Cpl in the RAF (joined in 1974) and had just collected a meal from a takeaway beside a petrol station when 2 men approached on foot, opening fire with automatic weapons. West German police suspected the attackers included Desmond Grew who was later shot by the SAS in 1990''."〕 in Wildenrath. Also in the car were his wife Smita and their six-month-old daughter Nivruti.〔 Corporal Islania was hit by multiple rounds and died instantly; his daughter was killed by a single shot to the head. Smita Islania suffered shock.〔 The IRA expressed regret for the child's death and claimed its members did not know she was in the car. 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「Killings of Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrose」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|