 Buchanan, because of the location and dress of the two armed men would have had difficulty in ascertaining if it was an ambush or a British Army checkpoint, slowed down and stopped.At that moment, a stolen cream-coloured Litace van, which had been following behind his car, overtook and pulled into the laneway of an empty house opposite.Four more armed IRA men wearing battle fatigues and balaclavas leapt out of the van.