WOn 23 June 1988, an Army Air Corps (AAC) Westland Lynx, serial number XZ664, was shot down by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Aughanduff Mountain, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland. A unit of the IRA's South Armagh Brigade fired at the British Army helicopter using automatic rifles and heavy machine guns. The disabled helicopter was forced to crash-land in an open field; the aircraft and its crew were eventually recovered by British forces.
WBritish Army corporals Derek Wood and David Howes were killed by the Provisional IRA on 19 March 1988 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in what became known as the corporals killings. The soldiers—wearing civilian clothes, both armed with Browning Hi power pistols and in a civilian car—drove into the funeral procession of an IRA member. Three days before, loyalist Michael Stone had attacked an IRA funeral and killed three people. Believing the soldiers were loyalists intent on repeating Stone's attack, dozens of people surrounded and attacked their car. During this, Corporal Wood drew his service pistol and fired a shot into the air. The soldiers were then dragged from the car and taken to a nearby sports ground where they were beaten, stripped and searched. They were then driven to a nearby waste ground where they were shot dead.
WThe Inglis Barracks bombing was a bomb attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 1 August 1988 on a British Army barracks called Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill, London. The attack killed one soldier, injured nine more and destroyed large parts of the barracks. It was the first IRA attack in England since the 1984 Brighton Bombing.
WThe Provisional IRA carried out two separate attacks on the same day on 1 May 1988 against British military personnel in the Netherlands which resulted in the deaths of three RAF members and another three being injured. It was the worst attack suffered by the British security forces during The Troubles from 1969 to 1998 on mainland Europe.
WOn 15 June 1988 an unmarked military van carrying six British Army soldiers was blown up by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Market Place in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The explosion took place at the end of a charity marathon run in which the soldiers had participated. All six soldiers were killed in the attack – four outright, one on his way to hospital and another later on in hospital.
WThe United States's Touchstone nuclear test series was a group of 13 nuclear tests conducted in 1987-1988. These tests followed the Operation Musketeer series and preceded the Operation Cornerstone series.
WThe State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military government of Burma, which seized power under the rule of Saw Maung in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General and Council Chairman Than Shwe signed a decree that officially dissolved the Council.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 612 was adopted unanimously on 9 May 1988. After considering a report by the Special Mission dispatched by the Secretary-General to investigate alleged use of chemical weapons in the Iran–Iraq War, the Council condemned the use of chemical weapons in the conflict, contrary to obligations under the Geneva Protocol.