THE FAMILIES OF victims of the Kingsmill massacre have asked a new Troubles truth recovery body to name the dead terrorists suspected of involvement in the attack.

Ulster Human Rights Watch (UHRW) said the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) had agreed to investigate the killings.

Ten Protestant men were shot dead outside the village of Kingsmill in Co Armagh in January 1976 when republican gunmen posing as British soldiers ordered them off a minibus on their way home from work.

The killers asked the occupants of the bus their religion before opening fire.

The only Catholic on board was ordered to run away before the sectarian shooting started.

Of the 11 Protestants who remained on the roadside, one man, Alan Black, survived, despite being shot 18 times.

No-one has ever been convicted of the murders.

A recent Police Ombudsman report identified a series of failings in the original police investigation of the IRA atrocity.

The families have submitted 57 questions to the ICRIR, including concerns over the use of public interest immunity certificates during an inquest into the deaths.

The ICRIR was created by the Legacy Act. Bereaved families, victims and certain public authorities can request the commission carry out an investigation into Troubles incidents.

Colin Worton’s brother Kenneth one of the Kingsmill victims.

Mr Worton said: “We have an opportunity here to get answers to events that surrounded the massacre.

“Forty-nine years on from these brutal slayings, we have been given some hope by this decision by the ICRIR to launch an investigation.

“Families can only expect limited closure, but naming those who gunned down our relatives would be a positive step.”

UHRW advocacy worker Jonathan Larner said: “The Irish Government has been dragging its heels on Kingsmill as with all cross-border cases.

“Families want to see Dublin become fully engaged with the ICRIR and agree to open their files.

“The role of the Gardaí deserves close scrutiny if we are to get to the truth and if suspicions of collusion are to be addressed.”

He added: “This decision by the ICRIR is real progress and a significant advance for relatives.

“Kingsmill families have waited long enough for answers which merely served to retraumatise them and cause pain and anguish.

“They hope to learn why, for example, public interest immunity certificates were issued and what they were attempting to conceal.”

The ICRIR has been approached for comment.