The Department of Defence has confirmed that the initial phase of an investigation into the killing of Irish UN peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney has been completed.
The criminal investigation by Lebanese authorities is one of a number of probes into the fatal incident last December.
RTE News reports that the findings of the inquiry have been referred by the military prosecutor in Lebanon to the office of the state prosecutor.
Private Seán Rooney from Dundalk/Newtowncunningham lost his life in the line of duty last December. He was shot when the armoured vehicle in which he was travelling came under fire near Sidon, around 30 miles south of Beirut. Pte Rooney died and another soldier Shane Kearney, 22, from Cork was critically injured during the attack but has since recovered.
Tragic Pte Rooney was born and raised in Dundalk, Co Louth but spend much of his later life in Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal where he was later buried with full military honours.
Separate investigations into the 24-year-old’s death are being conducted with the involvement of United Nations, An Garda Síochána and the Irish Defence Forces.
In January, the UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon completed a fact-finding investigation into the attack and its report was 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.
