According to two security sources and a Hezbollah official, the Lebanese army apprehended over the weekend the key suspect in the recent murder of an Irish UN peacekeeper in cooperation with Hezbollah.
The man is not a member of the militia supported by Iran or of the powerful political party, the Hezbollah official tolds.
According to the security sources, the individual was accused of shooting at a UNIFIL truck on December 15 as it was moving through south Lebanon.
The incident that resulted in the death of Private Sean Rooney, 23, was the first deadly assault on UN soldiers in Lebanon since 2015.
Hezbollah has categorically denied any role in the killing, describing it as a “unintentional occurrence” involving just the town’s population and UNIFIL.
Simon Coveney, Ireland’s then-foreign and defense minister, stated on public broadcaster RTE on December 16 that he did not believe Hezbollah’s denials of involvement.
He declared, “We don’t accept any assurances until we have completed a thorough investigation to discover the real truth.
Since 1978, UNIFIL has been present in Lebanon to keep the peace along its border with Israel. After a UN resolution put an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon in 2006, it was enlarged.
