JAKARTA - Lebanese soldiers have detained the main suspect in the recent assassination of an Irish UN peacekeeper in a coordinated movement with Hezbollah's armed group, two security sources and a Hezbollah spokesman said.
The man is a supporter of Iran-backed militias and heavyweight political parties, but is not a member of the group, a Hezbollah spokesman told Reuters, as quoted December 26.
Security sources said the man allegedly opened fire on a UNIFIL vehicle traveling via southern Lebanon on December 15.
Soldier Sean Rooney, 23, was killed in the incident, the first fatal attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon since 2015.
Hezbollah has officially denied involvement in the incident, calling the killing an "unintentional incident" that occurred solely between residents of the city and UNIFIL.
On December 16, then Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Simon Coveney told state broadcaster RTE he did not accept Hezbollah's guarantee that they were not involved.
"We do not receive any guarantees until we complete a full investigation to determine the truth completely," he said.
Citing The National News, Rooney's body was repatriated to Ireland last week, where he is remembered as a national hero.
The body of a young man from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, was returned to his family. The coffin carrying Rooney's body was taken to the Holy Family Church in Dundalk, for his funeral Mass on Thursday morning by his family and members of the Irish Defense Forces.
Ireland's three-color flag and UN flag were attached to its coffin.
It is known that UNIFIL has been operating in Lebanon since 1978 to maintain peace along its border with Israel. That was expanded after UN resolutions halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon.
Today, at a somber ceremony at Beirut airport, UNIFIL, @LebarmyOfficial and Ambassador of Ireland paid their respects to Irish peacekeeper Private Sean Rooney, killed late Wednesday night.Our hearts go out to his family, friends and colleagues. pic.twitter.com/dpsexIKOt6
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) December 18, 2022
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