Lebanese army court charges 5 Hezbollah-linked men for Irish peacekeeper’s death

Lebanon’s military tribunal charges five men with the killing of an Irish UN peacekeeper in December, a senior judicial official says. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, alleges all five are linked with the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.

The indictment followed a half-year probe after an attack on a UN peacekeeping convoy near the town of Al-Aqbiya in Lebanon’s south, a stronghold of Hezbollah. The shooting resulted in the death of Pvt. Seán Rooney, 24, of Newtown Cunningham, Ireland, and seriously wounded Pvt. Shane Kearney, 22. The wounded peacekeeper was medically evacuated to Ireland. Two other Irish soldiers sustained light injuries.

The indictment includes evidence from bystanders’ testimonies, as well as audio recordings and video footage from surveillance cameras, the Lebanese official says. In some of the recordings of the confrontation, the gunmen reportedly could be heard telling the peacekeepers that they are from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has denied any role in the killing, and a spokesperson for the group declines to comment on the indictments.