Defence Forces team arrives in Lebanon to probe death of Private Sean Rooney

As plans are put in place for the repatriation of the body of Private Sean Rooney, a specialist Defence Forces team arrived in Lebanon to investigate the death of the tragic soldier.

Private Rooney, who lived in Newtowncunningham, was killed on Wednesday night when the convoy in which he was travelling was surrounded by a hostile mob.

A team of eight Defence Forces personnel, including members of the Critical Incident Response Team, have landed in Beirut to begin their probe into the death of the 23-year-old.

Detectives from An Garda Siochana and forensic experts are expected to join them to aid in the investigation.

Fiancée of Donegal peacekeeper says he 'died doing what he loved'

Private Sean Rooney was due to be married next year

Defence Forces support staff are also heading to Lebanon to assist colleagues of the late Private Rooney.

A Defence Forces aircraft has travelled to Beiruit, having initially been on standby in Malta, and will stay there until clearance is given for the repatriation of his remains.

Another soldier, Cavalry Trooper Shane Kearney, was injured in the attack and underwent life-saving surgery at Raee Hospital.

Private Rooney is a native of Dundalk and was stationed in Aiken Barricks. Most of his early life was spent in Dundalk, but he later moved to Newtowncunningham and attended St Eunan's College in Letterkenny.

His mother, Natasha, still lives in Newtown and Private Rooney was engaged to be married to Derry woman Holly McConnalogue next August.

The incident occurred at around 9.15pm Irish time on Wednesday. At 4am on Thursday, two soldiers from the 28th Infantry Battalion and a priest visited Natasha's home in Newtown to relay the horrific news.

Private Rooney and Trooper Kearney were serving with the 121st Infantry Battalion on a UN peacekeeping mission.

Two other soldiers who were injured have been discharged from hospital and are back at UNP 2-45, Irish Camp Shamrock.

The area of attack is controlled by the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. The group's leadership has denied involvement in the killing.

Senior official Wafiq Safa described the events as an 'unintentional incident that took place between the residents of al-Aqbieh and individuals from the Irish unit'. Safa said Hezbolla should not be 'inserted' into the incident.

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said:"We don't accept any assurances until we have a full investigation concluded to establish the full truth.

"I am not going to read anything into any statements for now, but simply to say that we owe it to the Defence Forces, to people who serve in uniform abroad as peacekeepers and in particular to the family, who are dealing with extraordinary loss right now, to establish the truth.”

The jeep strayed off the main coastal road and encountered a roadblock in Al-Aqbieh village, which is around 30 miles south of Beirut and outside Unifil’s area of operations.

The vehicle came under fire and was surrounded with Private Rooney, who joined the Defence Forces in 2019, suffering a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said: “We have to think that this area at night is very, very dark especially these days with the economic crisis there is not public and private electricity.

“In that spot when you enter inside the highway it is not too difficult to make a wrong turn and end up driving parallel to the main road.

“The assumption is that one of the two vehicles took a wrong turn – and that is why they ended up in this town. When they realised they were in different areas it was too late.”