Irishman charged with 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing

[May 22, 2013]  LONDON (AP) -- A 61-year-old Irishman has been charged with the Irish Republican Army bombing of the queen's ceremonial cavalry in Hyde Park in 1982 that killed four soldiers and seven horses.

State prosecutors say John Downey was arrested Sunday at Gatwick Airport south of London and will be arraigned Wednesday on four counts of murder and one count of causing an explosion.

Nobody has been successfully prosecuted for the IRA's July 20, 1982, twin bomb attacks on ceremonial troops performing in London.

The IRA's first bomb in Hyde Park was planted in a parked car and detonated by remote control. A second that had been hidden in a bandstand in Regent's Park killed seven army musicians during a performance.

[Associated Press]

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