Security official claims Hezbollah helped Lebanese army in arrest of UN official's killer

Beirut: A security official of Lebonan has revealed that countries hardline Islamist political group Hezbollah group had handed over a man suspected of killing an Irish United Nations peacekeeper earlier this month.

As per the reports, the UN official identified as Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three others were injured on December 14 in an attack on UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle near Al-Aqbiya, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group in the country’s south.

UNIFIL operates near the border as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel.

In a statement issued on Sunday, a security official said: “The main shooter was arrested by security forces hours ago after Hezbollah handed him over”.

The officials refused to disclosed the identity of the arrested ma saying he was not authorised to speak to the media.

As per reports, it is unclear whether the arrested person was a member of the Hezbollah group.

According to the official, Hezbollah is cooperating in the investigation into the murder led by Lebanese military intelligence, and “preliminary investigations are nearly complete.”

A judicial official told news agency AFP earlier this week that Lebanese investigators had identified suspects in the attack, adding that there were “at least two” shooters.

According to the judicial source, a car carrying armed men followed the UNIFIL vehicle, citing preliminary findings and labelling the attack “premeditated.”

Hezbollah has denied involvement in the incident on numerous occasions, and its security chief Wafic Safa has described the killing as “unintentional.”

According to witnesses, villagers in the Al-Aqbiya area blocked Rooney’s vehicle after it took a road along the Mediterranean coast that UNIFIL does not normally use.

According to UNIFIL, Al-Aqbiya is just outside its area of operations.

When the vehicle collided with a pylon and overturned, three passengers were injured.

There have been a number of incidents between Hezbollah supporters and UN peacekeepers over the years, but they have rarely escalated.

UNIFIL has urged Beirut to conduct a prompt investigation into the death of one of its peacekeepers, the first in nearly eight years.

The force was established in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces following their invasion of Lebanon in retaliation for a Palestinian attack.

Israel left south Lebanon in 2000, but fought a devastating war with Hezbollah and its allies in 2006.

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