The next day , gunmen stopped a minibus carrying ten Protestant workmen near Whitecross and shot them dead by the roadside . This became known as the Kingsmill massacre . The " South Armagh Republican Action Force " claimed responsibility , saying it was retaliation for the Reavey and O'Dowd killings . Following the massacre , the British Government declared County Armagh to be a " Special Emergency Area " and announced that the Special Air Service ( SAS ) was being sent into South Armagh
Kingsmill massacre
Kingsmill massacre
Reavey and O'Dowd killings