An Irish soldier was shot and killed on a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and a second was in critical condition after a hostile crowd surrounded their armoured vehicle, Ireland's defence minister said on Thursday.

The soldiers, part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were said to be on a standard run from UNIFIL's area of operations in south Lebanon to Beirut when the incident happened in Al-Aqbieh late on Wednesday.

“The vehicle, for whatever reason, got separated. And then one of the vehicles was surrounded by what I can only describe as a mob who were very aggressive towards the vehicle. Shots were fired. And unfortunately, one of our personnel lost his life and another was very badly injured.” Defence minister Simon Coveney said.

UNIFIL has operated in Lebanon since 1978 to maintain peace along its border with Israel to the south.

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