DAMASCUS, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Syria rejected on Tuesday statements by Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr that he was threatened by Syrian intelligence officials before an attempt on his life in July, slamming them as "full of lies and fabrications."

   "We fully deny what was said by Mr. Murr and express denunciation of these statements that are full of lies and fabrications," the official SANA news agency quoted an official source as saying.

   On late Monday, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation aired a telephone interview with Murr, currently in Switzerland where he is recovering from his injuries, who said he got "personal threats" from Syrian intelligence officials in January.

   Murr said he had decided to speak out because he has "had enough" after a Sunday bombing maimed well-known Lebanese TV anchorwoman May Shidyak.

   "Such statements are contradicting with the simplest rules of credibility and truths," the Syrian official source said.

   The source also expressed astonishment that Murr's allegation came as a UN investigation team into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri left Damascus in a positive atmosphere due to Syria's cooperation.

   On July 12, Murr's car was heavily damaged by a bomb that went off in an adjacent car on a road near his house. He sustained moderate wounds, but his two aides were seriously injured and the driver of a third car was killed. 

   Hariri was killed in a huge car bomb blast in Beirut on Feb. 14 and the killing sparked massive anti-Syrian protests and led to Syrian troops' withdrawal from Lebanon in April after 29 years of military presence.

   Many Lebanese blame Syria and its Lebanese allies for the killing, but Damascus denied any role.

   An investigation led by the United Nations into Hariri's assassination has been underway. Enditem