Daily Star - Mirza calls reports of leads in Hajj killing 'inaccurate'

Daily Star - Mirza calls reports of leads in Hajj killing 'inaccurate', 29 december 2007.

State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza described as "inaccurate" reports in two local newspapers on Friday, An-Nahar and As-Safir, that referred to "new clues" surfacing in the investigation into the assassination of General Francois Hajj. Mirza said he has called for an investigation into the sources of information both papers used in their reporting. The papers reported that investigations have uncovered the identities of the owners of the BMW vehicle used in the assassination. Both papers said Friday that progress has been made in the investigation after the Leban-ese intelligence services obtained pictures of the two men who purchased the car that was used in the bombing. The newspapers reported that the vehicle, which was rigged with over 35 kilograms of explosives, was purchased in the village of Abra just east of Sidon. An-Nahar said the intelligence services in South Lebanon were able to determine how the car was purchased prior to the explosion in Baabda that killed Hajj and his bodyguard Khairallah Hadwan. The daily added that the two suspects are believed to be Lebanese. Meanwhile, As-Safir raised questions as to why the suspects' photos were not released and published in the media. The paper said that the UN International Investigation Commission probing the slaying of former Premier Rafik Hariri had asked Lebanese authorities not to publish the suspect's pictures. Explosives were packed into the trunk of the suspect's vehicle, which was parked along the route Hajj took to go to work at the Defense Ministry in Yarze. Investigators determined early on that the suspect vehicle had numerous owners which they were tracking down. Investigators also determined that the bomb was detonated remotely. Inspection of security camera footage from the scene of the explosion were sent abroad for analysis as they were too fuzzy and grainy to be useful.