Irish troops escape injury in rocket strike as 67 Donegal soldiers ready for Lebanon

A military camp in southern Lebanon where Irish peacekeeping troops are based - and where over 60 Donegal troops are being deployed shortly - has been struck by a rocket, the Chief of Staff of Ireland’s Defence Forces has said.

Lieutenant General Sean Clancy said all troops in Camp Shamrock at the time of the strike on Wednesday afternoon are safe and well, with the Katyusha rocket landing in an unoccupied area of the base.

Taoiseach Simon Harris described the incident as “extremely serious”.

Lieutenant General Clancy said the rocket was travelling north to south, towards Israel, when it came down.

He said it was unclear whether it fell or was taken down by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system.

Camp Shamrock, known as United Nations Post 2-45, is a short distance from the Israeli border and is close to areas controlled by Hezbollah militants.

There are around 350 soldiers currently deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) carrying out peacekeeping duties.

In November, the 125th Infantry Battalion will go to Lebanon for a six-month deployment. Included in the 381 Irish personnel going to the UNIFIL area of operations are 67 from Donegal.

They include Battalion Sergeant Major Patrick Enfield from Letterkenny, who has been serving in the military for over 34 years and is the senior Non-Commissioned Officer traveling with the 12th Infantry Battalion.

Battalion Sergeant Major Enfield has served in various units and he has accumulated extensive overseas service throughout his career, including multiple deployments to Lebanon with the 71st,75th, 87th, 104th and 112th Infantry Battalions, as well as serving with the 29th Infantry Group in KFOR and the 97th Battalion in EUFOR CHAD.

His son, Private Adam Enfield, will also be on the group on what will be his first overseas tour.

Three Diver siblings from Moville, will be travelling together.

Private Breena Diver will be travelling with her two older brothers, Private Sean Diver and Private Declan Diver, on her first overseas tour of duty. Private Sean Diver will deploy to Lebanon on his fourth overseas tour of duty, his third to Lebanon and this will be Private Declan Diver’s second overseas tour of duty.

Private Máirtín Heraty from Killybegs is the youngest soldier on the 125th Infantry Battalion.

Lt Gen Clancy confirmed the incident during a Defence Forces event in Co Westmeath on Thursday and said the rocket had caused minimal damage.

He said: “I can confirm that yesterday afternoon there was a Katyusha rocket that landed within 2-45, this was by an armed element obviously, our assessment is it was travelling north to south into Israel.

“A lot of these are undirected, unguided and therefore unpredictable rockets, and they have been known to fall or been taken down by the Iron Dome, we haven’t assessed which or whether that is right now.

“But it did fall in an unoccupied area of the camp itself. It caused minimal damage on the ground.”

He said bomb disposal officers sealed off the area on Wednesday night and dampened the ground before making the device safe on Thursday morning.

“All personnel are safe and well, and, of course, force protection is a priority for us and all the precautions we take and have been taking, which are working quite well, worked effectively on this occasion,” the chief of staff added.

Lt Gen Clancy and Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin participated in a military event at Custume Barracks in Athlone on Thursday for the members of the 125th Battalion who are preparing to take over from their counterparts in Lebanon when Irish troops on peacekeeping duties are next rotated.

Taoiseach Mr Harris said he was thankful no-one had been hurt in the rocket strike.

“In relation to Camp Shamrock, I have been kept informed of it through yesterday evening and, indeed, into today,” he told reporters in Co Kildare on Thursday.

“This is an extremely serious situation, whilst it seems what happens is this – that a rocket was fired, that rocket was taken down by what they call the Iron Dome, and part of that rocket then fell on, thankfully, an unoccupied part of Camp Shamrock, home to our Irish peacekeepers, and thankfully nobody has been hurt or injured, and thankfully all our peacekeepers are accounted for and safe, and that is a good thing.”

Mr Harris said there was an obligation in international law to protect and not target peacekeepers.

“What we have seen in the last number of days, on many occasions throughout the Unifil mission, and what we saw yesterday in relation to Camp Shamrock, is a situation where even if peacekeepers aren’t being actively targeted, certainly enough steps are not being taken to protect them,” he said.

“Therefore, I really reiterate my call in relation to the need for people to respect international law and respect the specific protections that are provided to peacekeepers in relation to that.”