Tooth a clue into Hariri killing

UNITED NATIONS - The inquiry into the killing of a former Lebanese prime minister has asked several countries to help identify the presumed suicide bomber from a tooth and other pieces of DNA, the chief investigator told the UN Security Council today.

The UN inquiry has identified 28 pieces of human remains including a tooth recovered from the bombing site as belonging to a man thought to be in his early 20s and not of Lebanese origin, said Serge Brammertz.

The Belgian former prosecutor is leading the UN probe into the 2005 killing of former Lebanese leader Rafik al-Hariri and 22 others in a Beirut street bombing. The investigation's current mandate runs until June 2007.

The tooth, an upper middle right incisor, "is the business card of a person, along with other human remains," Brammertz said after addressing the 15-nation council. "This can be an extremely important lead to identify those persons who have put this person in a position to act."

Hariri, who became a critic of Syria's decades-long domination of Lebanon shortly before his death, was killed by a huge bomb on February 14, 2005, as his motorcade sped past.

The attack took place after he accused Syria of meddling in Lebanese politics. Mass street protests followed and Lebanese opposition politicians blamed Damascus for his death, although Syria has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing.

Evidence from the scene of the crime indicated the bomber was either inside or right in front of a Mitsubishi van packed with a charge equivalent to around 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of TNT when he detonated the explosive, Brammertz has reported.

A distinguishing mark

Brammertz called the tooth "extremely important." In a report released this week, he said it showed a "distinguishing mark ... rarely seen among people from Lebanon."

"Further forensic tests are taking place to possibly establish the regional origin of the person. His DNA is being compared with existing DNA databases in several countries," Brammertz said on Friday. He declined to name the countries.

Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari warned the council against jumping to conclusions about the identity of the killers before all the evidence is in, and accused unnamed council members of seeking to exploit the case for political reasons. Washington has made no secret of its belief that investigators will implicate Damascus.

Jaafari said investigators should prosecute anyone found to have presented false testimony. He also urged them to look into the activities of the Israeli secret services and the Israeli military during the month-long war with Lebanon's Hizbollah that ended last month.

"Syria remains keen to reveal the truth, which is in Syria's core interest," he told the council, pledging continued cooperation with UN investigators.

But US Ambassador John Bolton said it appeared clear the UN team still had Syria in its sights.

"The conclusions that they are moving to are clear and I think if you look at some of the specifics that were presented in the oral report today, that that is further corroboration of it," Bolton told reporters when asked if he thought Brammertz was still looking at Syrian involvement.

"If the Syrians would spend more time cooperating with the commission and less time making suggestions, we might move this along more quickly," said Bolton.

- REUTERS