The chief UN investigator, Serge Brammertz, briefed the Security Council on his report into the former Lebanese Prime Minister's murder.

    He said his enquiry panel is satisfied with the progress made so far, but says the investigation still needs help and support from UN member states on technical, legal, and judicial matters.

    Brammertz gave details of his team's report that points to fresh evidence that a suicide bomber detonated the one-point-eight tons of explosives in a Mitsubishi van which killed former Premier Rafiq Hariri in February last year.

    SERGE Brammertz, commissioner of independent investigation commission said, “The D-N-A analysis conducted on the human remains on the crime scene produced crucial results. Several of these remains appear to correspond to the person that allegedly detonated the improvised explosive device: a man in his early twenties. Further forensic tests are taking place to possibly establish the regional origin of the person.”

    The massive bomb blast on the Beirut seafront that killed Hariri also killed twenty-two others.

    Brammertz says his commission is examining information suggesting that Hariri was the subject of earlier surveillance, and possibly earlier attempts to kill him.

    The Belgian prosecutor also expanded on further evidence of a link between the Hariri assassination and fourteen other attacks carried out in Lebanon against other opponents of Syria.

    The fourteen cases, which Lebanese authorities have been probing with UN help, include assassinations and assassination attempts targeting anti-Syrian Lebanese figures, as well as attacks on commercial interests.

    Brammertz added that Syria's cooperation with his team continues to be timely and efficient and the level of assistance provided remains generally satisfactory. Enditem

    (Source: CCTV.com)