Irish soldiers in Lebanon fired on

Two Irish soldiers escaped injury yesterday after coming under fire in Lebanon.

Two Irish soldiers escaped injury yesterday after coming under fire in Lebanon.

A group of men shot at Sgt Owen McKeown (36), from Dundalk, and Pte Robert Cole (27), from Malahide, Co Dublin, as they were travelling from the Irish Battalion base in Tibnin to the UNIFIL headquarters in Naquora.

Thirty bullets were fired in the attack, which took place at 12.20 p.m. Irish time, an Army spokesman in Dublin said.

The two men, who are members of the 37th Irish Component, drove to the nearest UNIFIL post, a Nepalese checkpoint about 3km away, where they found a bullet lodged in the rear of their vehicle.

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"Lebanese resistance fighters" were reported responsible for the attack, but the Army could not confirm this.

Chris Dooley

Chris Dooley

Chris Dooley is Foreign Editor of The Irish Times