Man charged in N.Irish soldier killing in 1970s

BELFAST (Reuters) - A man has been charged with the murder of a British army officer in Northern Ireland during the conflict in the 1970s between militant Irish republicans and pro-British forces, police said on Wednesday.

IRA guerrillas were widely believed to have abducted and executed Robert Nairac in one of the most notorious killings of Northern Ireland's "Troubles."

The IRA has never confirmed it killed him, but said in 1999 they had searched unsuccessfully for his body.

A police spokeswoman confirmed a man was charged with the murder on Wednesday but declined to release his name.

Local media identified the suspect as Kevin Crilly, who was charged with kidnapping in the same case last year.

Prosecutors added the murder charge as the suspect appeared for a hearing on two lesser counts in the case.

He spoke only to confirm he understood the nature of the charges against him, UTV News said on its website, adding the man was granted bail after the hearing.

Nairac, a British army captain who Irish media said worked for the intelligence services, disappeared in 1977. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian award for bravery.

Several people have been convicted in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland of involvement in his killing.

British troops were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 to help quell unrest over civil rights which erupted between the majority Protestant population -- who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom -- and local Catholics, who favour a united Ireland.

More than 3,600 people were killed over the following three decades until violence largely ended with an IRA cease-fire in 1997 and a wider peace deal a year later, with the British army ending its role supporting the police in 2007.

Attacks by Republican splinter groups still recur, and an independent observer group said last week the security threat posed by dissidents was the biggest for six years.

(Writing by Andras Gergely in Dublin; editing by Michael Roddy)