The Military Reaction Force, Military Reconnaissance Force or Mobile Reconnaissance Force (MRF) was a covert intelligence-gathering and counter-insurgency unit of the British Army active in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The unit was formed during the summer of 1971 and operated until late 1972 or early 1973. MRF teams operated in plain clothes and civilian vehicles, equipped with pistols and submachine guns. They were tasked with tracking down and arresting, or killing, members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
The MRF also deployed agents within the paramilitary groups, as well as a number of front companies to gather intelligence. In October 1972, the IRA uncovered and attacked two of the MRF's front companies— a mobile laundry service and a massage parlour— which contributed to the unit's dissolution. The MRF was succeeded by the Special Reconnaissance Unit (SRU; or 14 Intelligence Company) and, later, by the Force Research Unit (FRU). During the period when it was active, the MRF was involved in the killings of Catholic civilians in Northern Ireland.
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