Seán Rooney: Lebanon completes first phase of inquiry into killing

Pte Seán Rooney was killed last December

Lebanese authorities have completed the first phase of their inquiry into the killing of Irish soldier, the Irish Defence Forces have said.

Pte Seán Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, was in one of two armoured vehicles that came under fire while travelling to Beirut last December.

He was the first Irish soldier to die while on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon in more than 20 years. Three others were injured in the incident.

It is understood the findings of the inquiry have been referred by the military prosecutor in Lebanon to the office of the state prosecutor.

In January, seven people were charged by Lebanese authorities in connection with the killing, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported.

A number of investigations were launched, involving the UN, gardaí (Irish police) and the Irish Defence Forces.

As the incident occurred outside the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon's (Unifil) area of operation, Lebanese judicial authorities launched an investigation.

Unifil completed its own investigation a number of weeks ago. This was followed by UN headquarters setting up a board of inquiry, which is ongoing.

A team from the Irish Defence Forces sent a team to Lebanon to investigate the killing. Its inquiries are ongoing.

A spokesperson for Ireland's Department of Defence said: "The various separate parallel investigations are different in their objectives and are being undertaken according to their own protocols."