British Special Air Service soldiers kill three Irish Republican Army members in Gibraltar

In March 1988, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, British Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers shot dead three Irish Republican Army (IRA) members in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory. The operation, codenamed Operation Flavius, was intended to prevent an IRA car bomb attack on British troops. The three IRA members—Daniel McCann, Mairéad Farrell, and Seán Savage—were unarmed when killed, and no explosives were found in their car. The killings sparked controversy and accusations of a shoot-to-kill policy. The European Court of Human Rights later ruled that the killings violated the right to life.