Five men have been charged with killing Irish peacekeeper Private Sean Rooney last year.
The 24-year-old, who spent many years living in Newtowncunningham and who is buried in the local All Saints cemetary, was killed in active service in December last year in the Lebanon after the armoured car he was driving came under fire.
Five members of the Hezbollah militia have today been charged with killing the Irish peacekeeper
The five men were charged by a military court in Lebanon, with a 30-page indictment accusing the men of “voluntary homicide”.
The indictment also accused the five members of “forming a group of malefactors to commit a crime”.
Hezbollah, which has both a political and military wing, handed a man over to Lebanese authorities 10 days after Private Rooney was killed.
All five men have all been referred to the military court for trial and under Lebanese law, such crimes are punishable by death.
The document added that footage from surveillance cameras near the scene of the incident “clearly shows the patrol being attacked by armed men from all sides”.
Private Rooney died in the attack while Trooper Shane Kearney, 23, suffered head injuries in the same incident.
Brave Sean tried to get his colleagues to safety as shots were fired at them.
The tragic soldier, who attended St Eunan’s College in Letterkenny, was due to marry his heartbroken fiancée Holly McConnellogue in August and was buried with full military honours on December 22.
