Defence Forces' aircraft on standby to repatriate Pte Seán Rooney's remains

A Defence Forces aircraft is on standby for the repatriation of the remains of Private Seán Rooney, who was killed on active service in Lebanon.

A Defence Forces Casa aircraft has been deployed to Beirut where it will remain on standby for the repatriation of Private Seán Rooney’s remains.

The military transport aircraft, which can be adapted to operate as an air ambulance, will also be ready for the medical transport of Trooper Shane Kearney from Lebanon to Ireland, if and when medical clearance is given.

But a Defence Forces spokesperson stressed that no decisions on the timing of either mission have been made yet pending various administrative and legal clearances in one case, and medical clearance in the other.

The families of the four soldiers who were caught up in Wednesday’s horrific ambush are being briefed regularly on the evolving situation by appointed liaison officers.

The news comes as a specialist eight-person Defence Forces team is due to arrive in Beirut later on Saturday to help with the investigation into Pte Rooney’s killing on Wednesday night which left Tpr Kearney fighting for his life.

They were among four soldiers, all members of the 121st Infantry Battalion, Unifil peacekeeping mission, who were travelling in one of two armoured utility vehicles (AUVs) which were carrying eight personnel from their base in southern Lebanon, northbound along the coastal highway to Beirut, when the attack occurred at about 9.15pm Irish time, 11.15pm local time, on Wednesday.

The jeep in which they were travelling strayed off the main coastal highway and encountered a roadblock in Al-Aqbieh village south of Beirut and just outside Unifil’s area of operations.

The clearly marked UN vehicle was then surrounded by a “hostile mob” and it came under sustained small arms fire as it tried to escape, crashed, and overturned.

Pte Rooney, 23, a native of Newtowncunningnham in Donegal who grew up in Dundalk, suffered a fatal gunshot wound during the exchange and was pronounced dead in hospital later.

Tpr Kearney, 22, from Killeagh in East Cork, suffered serious head injuries in the crash. He underwent emergency surgery and remains in a critical but stable condition in a UN hospital in Beirut, where his treatment is being overseen by Irish Defence Forces personnel.

The Defence Forces this afternoon confirmed that the two soldiers who received minor injuries in the ambush have been released from hospital and are back safely in UNP 2-45 (Irish Camp Shamrock).

Investigations continue

As investigations continue into the ambush, the Casa aircraft was deployed to Malta earlier and is due to reposition to Beirut later today where it will remain on standby to provide whatever support it can to the Irish unit in Lebanon.

A spokesperson for the Defence Forces said, given the various investigations and the legal processes that have to be completed, they are awaiting formal approval in relation to the release of Pte Rooney’s remains.

She said the Casa will be ready to be called into use once a decision on the repatriation is made. And doctors have yet to make a decision on whether Tpr Kearney is stable enough for transport home.

Meanwhile, the specialist team which is due to arrive separately in Beirut today on board commercial flights includes four members of the Defence Forces’ personnel support service who provide counselling to those who have suffered severe stress and trauma, three members of the military police (MPs), and one legal officer.

The MPs and legal officer are expected to play key roles in the wide-ranging investigations which are being carried out by the Lebanese authorities, the UN, and the Defence Forces into the circumstances around the fatal ambush.

They will be joined within days by a number of gardaí, including specialist forensic experts and detectives, who will assist in the military investigation.