UN peacekeeper killed outside operations' area in Lebanon

A UN peacekeeper was killed and three others injured on Wednesday night just outside the peacekeepers' area of operations in south Lebanon, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced Thursday, reported Xinhua.

Details of the incident in Al-Aqbieh are "sparse and conflicting," but an investigation has been launched in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces to "determine what exactly happened," UNIFIL said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Irish Defence Forces said in a separate statement that a UNIFIL convoy of two armored vehicles carrying eight personnel traveling to Beirut came under small arms fire, which killed an Irish soldier and seriously injured another.

Two other soldiers are being treated for minor injuries, while the remaining four were not injured, it added.

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has expressed his sadness for the incident, calling for necessary investigations to find the cause of the incident.

UNIFIL was established in 1978 under the UN Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426 to confirm the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and restore international peace and security in the region.