Beirut, Dec 28 (IANS): Lebanon's Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aoun has reaffirmed the army's continuous cooperation with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to preserve peace in the southern region of the country.

"UNIFIL is a strategic partner of the Lebanese army in implementing UN Resolution 1701," Xinhua news agency quoted Aoun as saying.

The Commander's remarks came during his visit to the Irish-Polish Battalion of the UNIFIL in Bint Jbeil to honor the four Irish soldiers whose vehicle was shot at in Al-Aqbieh on December 14, leading to the death of one of the troopers, Sean Rooney.

"The Irish-Polish battalion has a long history of service within UNIFIL since 1978, and during this period, it offered martyrs among its members. I salute the battalion's members, the heroic peacekeepers, who are far from their homelands and their families to maintain peace in Lebanon and support the population in the south," said Aoun.

For his part, Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, chief of UNIFIL, thanked the Lebanese army for its solidarity with the mission, appreciating the efforts made by the army to investigate the incident.

L'orient Le Jour, a local newspaper, reported on Sunday that Lebanon's Hezbollah group has handed over a man suspected of killing the Irish peacekeeper, adding that "preliminary investigations are nearly complete".