UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council is considering extending and expanding the commission investigating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination.
A draft resolution circulated Tuesday night among the council's 15 members would extend the commission at least another six months and expand its mandate to include, at the inquiry panel's discretion, about half a dozen targeted bombings in Lebanon since October 2004.
The commission's six-month mandate to investigate the Feb. 14 Beirut bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others was to expire Thursday.
The extension was prompted by a Dec. 5 letter from Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniori and the expansion by his Tuesday request following Monday night's Beirut bombing attack that killed journalist and politician Gibran Tueni.
German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, heading the International Independent Investigation Commission investigating the Hariri slaying, Tuesday asked the council to let it continue despite setbacks.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was optimistic the investigation would continue despite repeated delays by Syria.
Also, Mehlis is stepping down when his mandated term as head of the case expires Thursday.
"The commission's relation with the Syrian authorities has been marked by conflicting signals," Mehlis told the council Tuesday. "This has caused confusion and delays."
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton called Syria's cooperation "grudging at best" with "the lowest common denominator approach to see what they can get away with."
He added, "This really is obstruction of justice on their part."
Syria said it "cooperated fully with the investigation."
Mehlis predicted the investigation could take another year or two if Syria continued its piecemeal cooperation. The prosecutor has promised to assist until his successor is able to take up the assignment.
