BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese army detained over the weekend a fundamental suspect within the recent killing of an Irish U.N. peacekeeper in a move coordinated with powerful armed group Hezbollah, two security sources and a Hezbollah spokesperson said.
The person is a supporter of the Iran-backed militia and heavyweight political party, but not a member of the group, the Hezbollah spokesperson told Reuters.
The safety sources said the person was suspected of firing shots at a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle that was travelling through south Lebanon on Dec. 15.
Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed within the incident, the primary fatal attack on U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon since 2015.
Hezbollah has officially denied involvement within the incident, calling the killing an “unintentional incident” that took place solely between the town’s residents and UNIFIL.
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On Dec. 16, Ireland’s then-foreign and defence minister Simon Coveney told state broadcaster RTE that he didn’t accept Hezbollah’s assurances that it had no involvement.
“We do not accept any assurances until now we have a full investigation concluded to determine the complete truth,” he said.
UNIFIL has operated in Lebanon since 1978 to keep up peace along its border with Israel. It was expanded after a U.N. resolution that halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Timour Azhari; Writing by Timour Azhari; Editing by David Evans)
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