the blast, killing three and injuring four of them. Immediately after the blast, the IRA opened fire on the lorry that had been following the Land Rover and three more soldiers including a helicopter pilot were injured. The three soldiers killed in the blast were Lance-Corporal David Moon (24) of No. 664 Squadron AAC, Private Christopher Stevenson (24) of the Parachute Regiment and Sergeant Stuart Reid (28) of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Malachy Bernard O'Kane, a farmer, was convicted of the attack and was ordered to serve at least 25 years of a life term. O'Kane was later released from prison and unsuccessfully ran as a Sinn Féin Candidate for Parliament in the 1997 general election. 26 June 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on mobile-patrol in the Short Strand area of Belfast. 26 June–8 July 1972: The IRA declared a ceasefire in order to allow talks with the British government. 27 June 1972: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA after attempting to drive through one of their vehicle checkpoints. July 4 July 1972: The IRA issued a statement where they reported the dead of volunteer Denis Quinn, shot and killed by accident while on an IRA patrol near Coalisland, County Tyrone. 7 July 1972: A civilian was shot dead after crashing his car into an IRA roadblock. 7 July 1972: Two British Army captains were captured while off duty by an IRA patrol in Derry. The two officers were interrogated and released unharmed 18 hours later. The British Army set up a board of inquiry on the issue. 9 July 1972: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA in the Markets area of Belfast. 10 July 1972: Five IRA bombs exploded in commercial areas of Derry, marking the end of the 26 June ceasefire. 11 July 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in Derry. 13 July 1972: Four British soldiers and an IRA volunteer were killed in various gun-battles across Belfast. The British Army also killed two armed men. 14 July 1972: An IRA volunteer was shot dead in a gun battle with the British Army. Also killed in the exchange of fire were three British soldiers, an OIRA volunteer and a civilian. 15 July 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA attacks in Belfast and Silverbridge, in South