Investigation into fatal Lebanon attack on Irish soldiers 'still underway' despite suspect's release on bail, UN mission told
Trooper Shane Kearney who was injured in Lebanon last year. Picture: Óglaigh na hÉireann
A legal process to investigate the December 2022 fatal attack on Irish soldiers in Lebanon is "still very much underway", a spokesman for the UN mission in the area has said.
This is despite the release on bail of one of the main suspects in the attack earlier this month.
Irish soldier Private Sean Rooney was killed when the UN jeep he and three other colleagues were in was fired on late at night on December 14, 2022 after it got lost in rural southern Lebanon, on its way to Beirut. Cork Trooper Shane Kearney sustained serious injuries in the incident.
After ending up down remote country roads, they encountered a large crowd that tried to stop them from passing through Aaqibiyé on the night of December 14. Pte Rooney managed to steer clear of the group but shots were fired into the back of the vehicle.
Trooper Kearney sustained a severe head injury when the vehicle turned over after hitting a pylon and crashed into a shop. He was originally medically evacuated from Beirut Airport on December 21 in a specially equipped, contracted medical aircraft to Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, Co Dublin. He continues to receive medical attention here.
Two other colleagues and members of 121st Infantry Battalion, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), suffered minor injuries in the incident.
Mohammad Ayad, who had been handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in January, is alleged to have shot at Pte Rooney’s vehicle with a Kalashnikov.
He has since been questioned a number of times but was released on medical grounds on November 9.
UNIFIL* spokesperson Andrea Tinitti told the Irish Examiner: “Our legal advisers have met with the judge and they have been assured that the legal process is still very much underway.
“Mr Ayad has a serious medical condition and he has been released on bail. No date been set for the trial and it is our understanding that investigators are looking for more arrests.” Unifil's internal administrative investigation into the incident has concluded and its report submitted to the UN HQ in New York. A redacted version of it has been handed over to gardaí to assist with their own investigation, although why it is a redacted report is not clear at this stage.
Gardaí were deployed to Lebanon alongside a Defence Forces team investigating the incident to offer advice and guidance. Gardaí also assisted to "meet their obligations to the State Coroner’s Service in Ireland under the provisions of the Coroner’s Act and the Garda Siochána Act”.
The Defence Forces and the Department of Defence has been asked for comment.
*
