Intelligence concerns hindering UN Hariri probe: US official

UN chief investigator Serge Brammertz said recently that 10 countries had failed to cooperate with him as he looked into the massive car bombing which killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February 2005.

Syria, the long-time powerbroker in Lebanon, is widely suspected of involvement in the assassination of Hariri, who was seeking to lessen the influence of Damascus over his country.

Russia, which currently chairs the UN Security Council, pressed Brammertz this week to reveal which countries were not cooperating, a demand opposed by the United States.

The US official said the reticence of the 10 governments "could involve intelligence" secrets, but he declined to elaborate.

The State Department meanwhile said it was up to Brammertz to determine if and when the reluctant governments should be identified.

"It shouldn't be about fingerpointing at this time," department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"The fact that Syria has been cited as not being fully cooperative in the past with the investigation was important because -- let's be frank -- the signs pointed to some Syrian involvement in some fashion," he said.

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