By Michael Fitzpatrick
BBC News NI
The coroner at the inquest into the killing of three IRA men in Coagh in County Tyrone in June 1991 has ruled that SAS soldiers were justified in their use of lethal force.
Three men, Peter Ryan, Tony Doris and Lawrence McNally, died in the ambush.
Mr Justice Michael Humphreys said he was satisfied the use of force was “reasonable and proportionate”.
This was because the soldiers “had an honest belief that it was necessary in order to prevent loss of life.”
He said “the use of force by the soldiers was, in the circumstances they believed them to be, reasonable.”However, the coroner also concluded that “the operation was not planned in a manner which minimised to the greatest extent possible the need for recourse to lethal force.”
The inquest into the deaths of Peter Ryan, Tony Doris and Lawrence McNally opened in 2022.
It heard they were intercepted as they drove in a stolen car through Coagh by SAS soldiers who suspected they were intending to murder a member of the security forces.
The coroner concluded that Lawrence McNally died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and heart.
He added that Tony Doris died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head while Peter Ryan died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Previous legal hearings were told that up to 150 rounds were fired during the incident.