UN Irish peacekeeper killed in shooting in southern Lebanon

By ABBY SEWELL and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — An Irish U.N. peacekeeper has been killed and several others were wounded when unidentified attackers fired at a convoy in southern Lebanon, a traditional stronghold of the militant Hezbollah group. The Irish Defense Forces said Thursday that a pair of armored vehicles carrying eight Irish UNIFIL peacekeeping troops was shot at on Wednesday night, heading to Beirut near the town of Al-Aqbiya. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Teneti said the peacekeeping body is coordinating with Lebanese armed forces and have “launched an investigation to determine exactly what happened.” Teneti said further details are “sparse and conflicting.” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin expressed his condolences in a statement.