Hezbollah hands over suspected killer of UNIFIL peacekeeper, says Lebanese official

Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah terrorist group has handed over a man suspected of killing an Irish United Nations peacekeeper earlier this month, a security official tells AFP.

Pvt. Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three others injured on December 14 when their UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle was attacked near the village of Al-Aqbiya in the country’s south, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group.

UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel and operates near the border.

“The main shooter has been arrested by security forces after Hezbollah handed him over hours ago,” the security official says, declining to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media. It is not immediately clear if the individual arrested is a member of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is cooperating in the probe led by Lebanese military intelligence, the official says, adding that “preliminary investigations are nearly complete.”