 The attack is one of many linked to the Glenanne gang, a loose association of loyalist militants and rogue members of the Northern Ireland security forces, who carried out a series of attacks against the Catholic/Irish nationalist community in the area during the 1970s.By the mid-1970s, the conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, showed no signs of abating.The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) intensified its bombing campaign to drive British forces out, and began targeting English cities.