Arrest made after Irish UN peacekeeper who was set to marry is killed in Lebanon
26 December 2022, 09:38 | Updated: 26 December 2022, 09:40
Terrorists in Lebanon handed over a suspect accused in the murder of an Irish soldier working with UN peacekeepers in the Middle East.
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Pte Sean Rooney, 24, died last Wednesday after a vehicle carrying four soldiers was attacked in southern Lebanon.
It was surrounded by a mob and fired on while travelling to Beirut at 9pm on December 14, the BBC reported.
A security source told news agency AFP: "The main shooter has been arrested by security forces after Hezbollah handed him over hours ago."
Dundalk-born Rooney was set to marry fiancee Holly McConnellogue, 22, next August.
Ms McConnellogue said Sean was "a fantastic person to be with".
She told the Irish Times: “He was one of the good ones, as they say. He taught me so much about myself and about unconditional love.
"He really showed me what unconditional love is like.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken and it hasn’t sunk in yet that he’s gone, but I at least know that he died doing what he loved and serving his country."
Rooney is the first Irish soldier killed in combat for 23 years and the first person killed on a peacekeeping mission since 2003.
His father died in service for the Irish Defence Forces several years ago.
Another Irish soldier seriously injured in the attack arrived in his home country before Christmas.
Trooper Shane Kearney was taken to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin with a head injury.
Investigations are being carried out by UN officials in Lebanon, local authorities and the Irish Defence Forces.
Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah denies involvement in the killing.
