1979 Brussels bombing

Provisional IRA bombing in Belgium April 2022 the Troubles 1979 Brussels bombing Grote Markt (9379072012).jpg The Grand-Place/Grote Markt Brussels, Belgium 50 50 48 N 4 21 9 E inline,title 28 August 1979 15:00 UTC Bomb 0 18 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) collapsedThe 1979 Brussels bombing was an attack carried out by volunteers belonging to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) against a British Army band on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, the central square of Brussels, Belgium, on 28 August 1979.https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/29/archives/ira-sets-off-bomb-at-belgian-concert-15-persons-are-hurt-in.html I.r.a. Sets Off Bomb at Belgian Concert The New York Times 29 August 1979 The bombing injured seven bandsmen and eleven civilians,https://www.apnews.com/513ed1f88c42daa557927b3f870106d4 IRA Killings Follows Lull In Terrorist Attacks Outside Britain With AM-Netherlands-Ira, Bjt Associated Press 6 June 2018 28 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200828102820/https://apnews.com/513ed1f88c42daa557927b3f870106d4 dead and caused extensive damage. Background The bombing was part of the IRA's European continental campaign against British targets in its fight to force the British out of Northern Ireland, in a protracted armed conflict known as the Troubles. The attack in Brussels was one of numerous ones from the IRA on the continent at the time. Earlier that year, Richard Sykes, British ambassador to the Netherlands was assassinated in Amsterdam. A Brussels explosion on 25 June, narrowly missing American Alexander Haig, was intended for a British general. A bomb attack in Antwerp targeted the British consulate building on 6 July 1979. In the two days before the 29 August bombing, 18 British soldiers had been killed in Northern Ireland in the Warrenpoint ambush, and Lord Mountbatten had been assassinated in the Republic of Ireland, both by the IRA.https://www.ina.fr/contenus-editoriaux/articles-editoriaux/la-belgique-face-aux-attentats/ La Belgique face aux attentats - Archives vidéo et radio Ina.fr Institut National de l’Audiovisuel 2018-09-15 fr-FR Bombing and aftermath The band, from the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment based in Osnabrück, West Germany, was about to perform a concert as the bomb was planted underneath the open-air stage. Only some of the band's 30 members had already arrived, as the others were lucky enough to have been stuck in city traffic.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/08/29/ira-bombs-british-band-on-belgian-visit/7d42047c-032b-4ca5-87d9-f7eac741b51b/ IRA Bombs British Band On Belgian Visit 29 August 1979 www.washingtonpost.com Also, injuries were lessened and fatalities avoided since the band's members were dressing, away from the stage, at the time of the explosion.https://www.digibron.nl/search/detail/012ea00656c0663fa3f7bc43/aanslag-ira-in-centrum-brussel Aanslag IRA in centrum Brussel – Digibron.nl 29 August 1979 The bombing happened while the city was celebrating its thousandth anniversary.https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/31/archives/tourists-preview-of-the-new-year-bonus-from-customs-persian-gulf.html Tourist's Preview Of the New Year Robert J. Dunphy The New York Times 31 December 1978 The IRA claimed responsibility in a telephone call to the city hall, according to Mayor Pierre Van Halteren. According to West German intelligence, the IRA possibly planned the attack in co-ordination with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/display_article.php?id=177490 IRA TECHNOLOGY Oppenheimer Andy 2009 The Counter Terrorist 6 June 2018 10 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200610140254/http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/display_article.php?id=177490 dead See also Warrenpoint ambush 1987 Rheindahlen bombing 1988 IRA attacks in the Netherlands Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign 1969–1997 References collapsed Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in 1979 Category:August 1979 in Europe Category:Terrorist incidents in Brussels Category:Attacks on music venues Category:Provisional IRA bombings in continental Europe Category:Terrorist incidents in Belgium in 1979 Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in Belgium Category:British military bands Category:1970s in Brussels