A man suspected of murdering three Scottish soldiers in an IRA plot has died.
Anthony 'Dutch' Docherty passed away in Dublin, just days before the 51st anniversary of the atrocity.
He was implicated in the deaths of Glasgow man Dougald McCaughey, from Castlemilk, and brothers John and Joseph McCaig, from Ayr.
The Royal Highland Fusiliers were ambushed after being lured from Kelly's Cellar in Belfast in a suspected 'honey trap' and executed on March 10, 1971.
The three men were the first off-duty soldiers to be killed by the IRA in the Troubles and their deaths triggered mass protests.
The original inquest in August 1971 revealed that they were shot at very close range, probably in a line.
It was revealed that the comrades were on a pub crawl when they met two women in a bar and then were lured to a remote road where their killers were waiting.
The Scottish Daily Express reports that Docherty was questioned by detectives and the Metropolitan Police claimed he confessed to the killings. A judge later condemned their interrogation process and said the admissions could not be regarded as voluntary.
Docherty went on the run a few months after the murders, and many suspected he was dead until a BBC investigation revealed he was alive and living in Dublin.
Another suspected killer, Patrick McAdorey was shot dead by the security forces in August 1971 shortly before he could be charged with murder.
David McCaughey, Dougald's cousin, told the Scottish Sun: "We have been badly let down.
"This coward is dead and we have been robbed of the chance to learn more."
