The body of Irish UN peacekeeping soldier Sean Rooney, who was killed by a bullet to the head in Lebanon, will be repatriated later on Sunday.
A member of the Irish Defence Forces, Pvt Rooney, 23, died on active service when his convoy came under fire from unidentified assailants in the southern village of Al Aqbieh on Wednesday as it was travelling to Beirut.
The Defence Forces said Mr Rooney’s remains will leave Beirut on an Air Corps plane at 4pm Beirut time.
A UN ceremony will be held to honour the soldier at Beirut Airport before the departure.
Pvt Rooney’s body will be taken to Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, before being reunited with his family on Monday.
His colleague, Pvt Shane Kearney, was seriously injured in the incident and remains in hospital.
Two other peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries.
The soldiers were part of 121st Infantry Battalion, comprising 333 Irish troops, which was deployed in November to south Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
Lebanon is determined to uncover the circumstances that led to the killing of an Irish UN peacekeeper, caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said during a visit to Unifil headquarters on Friday.
“The necessary investigations are ongoing to uncover the circumstances of the incident to avoid it from happening again in the future," Mr Mikati said at the Unifil headquarters in Naqoura, in southern Lebanon.
“Whoever is found guilty will be punished.”
Unifil said on Thursday that the details of what occurred were “sparse and conflicting” and it was co-ordinating an investigation with the Lebanese Armed Forces to determine exactly what happened.
"The peacekeepers took a wrong turn and they got detached from the rest of the convoy," Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. "As the investigation is ongoing we cannot further comment on the circumstances surrounding the incident."
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
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Lexus LX700h specs
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Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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