BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 30 (UPI) -- A member of Hezbollah tied to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri holds a U.S. passport, a source said.
The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed over the Lebanese portion of its long-awaited indictment to authorities in Beirut. The indictment, sources told The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon, includes the names of four members of Hezbollah, a widely expected outcome.
A judicial source told the newspaper one of the Hezbollah members, Salim al-Ayyash, holds a U.S. passport as a dual citizen.
A profile provided by the newspaper said the 48-year-old led the cell that carried out the 2005 assassination in Beirut and was a volunteer with Lebanon's civil defense force.
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Other Hezbollah figures named by the STL include Mustafa Badreddine, identified as the brother-in-law of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, assassinated in 2008. The newspaper named Asad Sabra and Hasan Ainessi as the two other Hezbollah figures but had no background information available.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati was quoted as saying his country needed to "act responsibly" to ensure stability was maintained in the country following the indictment.
Mikati was able to form a new government after Hezbollah in January brought about the collapse of the administration of Saad Hariri, the son of the slain prime minister. Hezbollah was upset with Hariri's support for the tribunal.
Some U.S. lawmakers were critical of the Mikati government, which includes two Hezbollah Cabinet ministers as members of the majority March 8 alliance.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, whose party is a leading member of the March 8 slate, said the STL indictment was directed at individuals and not a sweeping indictment of any single group.
"We need to look at the accused as a person rather than link them with their party, sect, or country that he belongs to," he said.
