The Troubles reached a fever pitch in 1982, as the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) struck hard, killing more British security forces than ever before. The grievous harm to the innocent was made plain on Thursday, September 16, when the INLA exploded a bomb hidden inside a drain pipe along a balcony in Cullingtree Walk, Divis Tower, Belfast.
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Though aimed against a British Army foot patrol, the blast had the unintended effect of killing two local children, Stephen Bennet, 14, and Kevin Valliday, 12, along with soldier Kevin Waller, 20. Three other civilians and one soldier were also injured in the explosion.
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It just so happened that earlier that year, Israeli photojournalist Judah Passow spent a couple of weeks documenting Divis Flats for the Observer magazine to create a portrait of a people and a place. These photographs have been published in Divis Flats Belfast 1982 (Café Royal Books).
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