On March 6, 1988, three members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)—Seán Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell—were shot dead by the British Special Air Service (SAS) in Gibraltar. The IRA unit was believed to be planning a car bomb attack on British military personnel. Although the three were unarmed and no bomb was found in their car, an inquest ruled the killings lawful. However, the European Court of Human Rights later found that the operation's planning and control made the use of lethal force almost inevitable, violating Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This event was a significant incident during The Troubles.
