Proxy Bomb - Later Proxy Bombs

Later Proxy Bombs

Several more 'human proxy bombings' were planned, but the operations were called-off, partly because of the outrage it drew from all sections of the community. Nevertheless, there were a few more 'traditional' proxy bombings in the following months.

At 9:30 on 22 November 1990, the IRA took over a man's house in Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh. While his parents were held at gunpoint, he was forced to drive a Toyota Hilux pickup truck to Annaghmartin military checkpoint. He was told that the truck carried a bomb on a five-minute timer. When he reached the checkpoint he shouted a warning and a small explosion was heard, but the main bomb failed to detonate. The vehicle was found to contain 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of homemade explosives; the biggest IRA bomb up to that point. The same checkpoint was the subject of a heavy machine gun attack on 26 December.

In early February 1991, another proxy bomb wrecked an Ulster Defence Regiment base in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, but there were no fatalities. The proxy bomb tactic caused some outrage in both the unionist and Irish nationalist communities. The final IRA use of proxy bombs came on 24 April 1993, when they forced two London taxi drivers to drive bombs towards Downing Street and New Scotland Yard. There were no casualties, however, as the drivers managed to shout warnings and to abandon their cars in time. A conventionally delivered bomb was detonated by the IRA on the same day in the financial centre of Bishopsgate in central London.

In the early 2000s, FARC rebels began to use proxy car bombs in Colombia. This has been attributed to training given to FARC by members of the Provisional IRA. In the Colombian province of Arauca in February 2003, three brothers were forced to drive car bombs into military checkpoints, each told that the other brothers would be killed if they did not comply.