Hezbollah claims it stopped more Irish soldiers being shot on night Seán Rooney was killed

Members of Hezbollah say they 'acted quickly' when the Unifil vehicle carrying Irish soldiers came under fire, resulting in the death of Private Seán Rooney. Picture: Defence Forces

Members of the Hezbollah movement have claimed they prevented more of Private Seán Rooney’s colleagues being attacked and shot on the night he was killed in Lebanon.

They say they “acted quickly” when the Unifil vehicle carrying Irish soldiers was shot at after it swerved past a crowd and crashed moments later.

It has also emerged that Hezbollah “team leaders” in villages all over south Lebanon have told supporters there is to be no repeat of what happened on December 14, when Pte Rooney was shot dead.

A security source has told the Irish Examiner: “Hezbollah say they arrived very quickly on the scene of the crashed vehicle and protected those inside from being attacked.

They say they were on hand to calm things down and prevent a further escalation.

“They say they were at the crashed vehicle, telling people to calm down and helping with the rescue efforts.” 

Al-Aqbieh, the southern Lebanese village where Pte Rooney was shot, is regarded as a Hezbollah stronghold. After the incident, a spokesperson for Hezbollah described it as “an unintentional accident between the local people and members of the Irish battalion”.

Unifil is due to release an interim report on what happened by next Tuesday.

A blacksmith,  aged 31, who was handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) days ago, is alleged to have shot at Pte Rooney’s vehicle with a Kalashnikov.