IRAs South Down Brigade kill 4 UDR men via landmine near Downpatrick, April 9th 1990

On the morning of 9 April 1990, two UDR armoured Land Rovers were travelling from Ballykinler Barracks to Downpatrick.[4] An IRA unit had planted a 1,000-pound (450 kg) improvised landmine in a culvert under the Ballydugan Road, just outside the town. The unit waited in woodland overlooking the road, about 350 ft (110 m) away.As the Land Rovers drove over the culvert, the IRA detonated the bomb by command wire. The huge blast blew the vehicle into a field and gouged a large crater in the road, 50 ft (15 m) wide and 15 ft (5 m) deep. A witness described "a scene of utter carnage".Four soldiers were killed: Michael Adams (23), John Birch (28), John Bradley (25), and Steven Smart (23).It was the biggest loss of life suffered by the UDR since the 1983 Ballygawley landmine attack.The soldiers in the other Land Rover suffered severe shock and were airlifted to hospital.Police said a civilian driver also suffered shock and another received cuts and bruises.