An Irish soldier on peacekeeping duties in East Timor has been shot dead. Early reports indicate that the man was killed following the accidental discharge of a weapon by one of his colleagues.The dead man has been named as Private Peadar Flaherty, single, from Trabane near Lettermore in Galway. He was 21, and had been in East Timor since February.
He was evacuated by helicopter from the scene of the shooting to a nearby military hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the head, and was pronounced dead at 11.30am Irish time. He was single.
The army is having difficulty establishing further details of the tragedy. But it's the second accidental shooting involving Irish troops in the past six months - last November an army private was seriously wounded during nighttime training in the Glen of Imaal.
