Defence Forces give history of ID found in Lebanon

The Defence Forces yesterday responded to allegations made on a Lebanese TV station that a member of the Irish Army had been fighting alongside Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.

The claims, which the Defence Forces describe as "bizarre", were made on Al-Manar TV on Sunday. It was reported that an official Irish Defence Forces ID had been found by Hizbullah fighters at the site of a battle with Israeli soldiers.

The ID was reportedly left behind in paperwork abandoned by Israeli soldiers after a raid in south Lebanon. An image of the ID was broadcast by the TV station, clearly showing its official status and the name and photograph of its holder. The story was picked up by newspapers in Lebanon.

A Lebanese man living in Ireland, who saw the broadcast via the Internet, informed the Irish Defence Forces and they investigated.

A spokesman for the Defence Forces confirmed to The Irish Times yesterday that the ID was genuine and belonged to a person serving with the Defence Forces.

"This is a bizarre incident," the spokesman said. "The person concerned is still serving in the Defence Forces. He was injured while serving in Lebanon in 1997.

"He was rendered first-aid by a member of the then South Lebanese Army [allied with Israel]. As part of the first-aid, they cut the leg off his trousers, and in them was his wallet with his ID card. By the time he noticed his wallet was missing, it was too late."

The man reported the wallet and card missing and the card had been cancelled.

"The card was reportedly found among artefacts left behind by the Israeli army. This is what Hizbullah presented as fact; we don't know if this is fact," the spokesman said.

The Defence Forces do not know how the ID ended up where it was. The spokesman added: "The card was cancelled and it has now also expired.

"We don't know what it was being used for. It would be of very limited use. We were sent a still of the ID; it looked like it hadn't been tampered with."