The loyalist murder of several people in Mid Ulster took place after their details fell into the hands of British agent Freddie Scappaticci during an IRA investigation into the Loughgall ambush.
Eight members of the IRA and one civilian, Anthony Hughes, were killed in an SAS ambush in the Co Armagh village of Loughgall in May 1987.
The ambush resulted in the single largest loss of life suffered by the republican movement during the Troubles.
The dead included some of the organisation’s most experienced operators, including its leader in east Tyrone, Patrick Kelly.
The IRA unit had planned to attack RUC members as they clocked off duty at Loughgall police station, which sat on the edge of the mainly unionist village, before blowing it up.
Relatives of those killed believed they were the victims of a ‘shoot-to-kill’ operation.
In 2017 the Irish News revealed that despite the high death toll, three republicans involved in the IRA operation escaped death and arrest, including Liam Ryan, who was later killed during a loyalist gun attack.
While it is not known how the security forces became aware of the planned Loughgall attack, several theories have been put forward, including that one or more informers provided information in advance.
Some believe that a combination of sources enabled the security forces to conclude that Loughgall barracks was a target.
In the aftermath of the ambush the IRA launched a major investigation headed by Freddie Scappaticci, who an agent for the British army’s Force Research Unit and known by the codename Stakeknife.
At the time he was also a commander in the IRA’s Internal Security Unit (ISU), which was responsible for hunting down and killing suspected informers.
Last week a report by Operation Kenova, which investigated the activities of Stakeknife, revealed that some of its victims made confessions after being tortured and it is known innocent people were killed.
It has also been confirmed that Scappaticci was not the only informer linked to the work of the ISU.
Republican sources say that during the Loughgall internal investigation, Scappaticci liaised closely with experienced Tyrone-based IRA member Gerard Harte, who at the time was attached to security in the organisation’s General Headquarters (GHQ).
In the period after the IRA’s investigation into Loughgall, Mr Harte returned to “active service” in Co Tyrone.
He was later shot dead along with his brother Martin and his brother-in-law Brian Mullin at Drumnakilly, between Carrickmore and Omagh, in August 1988.
The three IRA men were preparing to attack an off-duty UDR member when they were ambushed by the SAS.
It is not known if Scappaticci had knowledge of the IRA’s planned operation at Drumnakilly.
In the days and weeks after the Loughgall ambush, Mr Harte took a lead role in the IRA’s investigation in the county.
This included gathering information and speaking to anyone who had prior knowledge or input into the planned attack at Loughgall.
This information was then provided to Scappaticci, who at the time was regarded as one of the British army’s most important agents in the IRA.
It is understood that during the investigation Scappaticci also tried to acquire information about the make-up of the IRA’s leadership in east Tyrone but was unsuccessful.
Some of those whose details are believed to have been passed to Scappaticci were later targeted by loyalists, resulting in several murders and attempted murders.
Among them was Liam Ryan, who was killed along with civilian Michael Devlin, during a gun attack claimed by loyalists in December 1989 at his bar in Moortown, Co Tyrone.
At the time of his death Mr Ryan was one of the most senior IRA men in Co Tyrone and sat on the organisation’s ‘Brigade Staff’, a position which would have made him a target for state agencies and loyalists regardless of his link to Loughgall.
An historical Enquiries Team investigation into the Loughgall ambush confirmed that the security forces had received intelligence “in the days leading up to the attack”.
Significantly, the report also highlighted the quality of information received after the ambush.
“Following the attack a substantial amount of high grade and highly sensitive intelligence was received providing a detailed account into the circumstances surrounding this incident,” the HET report concluded.
The HET report also sets out that an intelligence report “provides details of the subsequent Provisional IRA enquiry into the incident”.
