Spanish UN peacekeeper killed in Lebanon

A SPANISH UN peacekeeper has died from injuries sustained in a skirmish between Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

A UN Interim Force (UNFIL) spokeswoman confirmed this Wednesday that the Spanish member of the peacekeeping mission had been confirmed dead. “We are still checking information about the circumstances of his death,” said UNFIL spokeswoman Andrea Tenenti.

NBC News reported that his death resulted from the launching of around 25 shells at southern Lebanon by the IDF in response to a Hezbollah attack on of its vehicles earlier in the day.

Up to six soldiers were reportedly injured in the attack, with the Spanish member of the UN force, who the Ministry of Defence named as Corporal Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, a 36-year-old married man from Malaga, succumbing to his injuries.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy expressed his condolences to Soria’s family and friends on twitter.