LAST UPDATE | 17 Dec 2022
TWO IRISH SOLDIERS who received minor injuries in an attack on their convoy in Lebanon this week have returned home from hospital, the Defence Forces has said.
23-year-old Private Seán Rooney was killed in the attack, and Trooper Shane Kearney was critically injured. He remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.
The Air Corps’ Casa Maritime Patrol Aircraft has arrived in Malta awaiting to fly to Lebanon to collect the remains of Private Rooney.
A spokesperson said: “The Defence Forces can also confirm that an Air Corps CASA aircraft has been pre-positioned in Malta as a contingency to provide support to the 121 Infantry Battalion if required.”
An eight-person convoy, accompanied by Lebanese authorities, was attacked on Wednesday night as it set out from the UNIFIL base in Naqoura to Beirut International Airport to allow two recently bereaved peacekeepers travel home to Ireland.
The vehicle carrying the peacekeepers who were attacked got separated from the other one and the Lebanese authorities, and turned off the main road into the village of Al-Aqbiya, where it came under a small arms fire attack.
The two discharged peacekeepers have returned to the main Irish base, Camp Shamrock.
Four Irish military investigators and a team of eight Defence Forces personnel are set to arrive in Lebanon today to assist in the investigation into the death of Pt Rooney.
A source has said that their role will be to assist the Battalion military police officers conducting their investigation. They will be gathering evidence, examining exhibits and taking witness statements.
In his last speech as Taoiseach, Micheál Martin paid tribute to the two men: “I would like to express my deepest sympathies, and those of the government, to the family and loved ones of Private Seán Rooney.
“Our thoughts and prayers are also with Trooper Shane Kearney.
“We think also of their colleagues, who are deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of their comrade.”
Martin said the Defence Forces “have protected our democracy at home and brought honour to our country by representing our values abroad.
“The loss of Private Rooney is truly shocking. He was a very committed young man, who had many plans for the full life he had ahead of him.”
Newly elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also paid his respects this morning.
This morning I stopped by the National Memorial to members of the Defence Forces in Merrion Square Park to pay my respects. pic.twitter.com/oGtkWXG2pL
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) December 17, 2022
An international investigation into the attack and the events that lead up to it is being conducted by the UN, along with the Irish investigation and an investigation being carried out by Lebanese Authorities. The three investigations are being carried out in a collaborative manner.
It is not clear yet whether an autopsy is going to take place first in Lebanon before Pt Rooney’s body is repatriated home, but that process has not begun at this stage.
Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000 but fought a devastating 2006 war with Hezbollah and its allies. UNIFIL was beefed up to oversee the ceasefire that ended the 2006 conflict, and now counts nearly 10,000 troops.
Additional reporting by Emer Moreau and AFP
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