UNITED NATIONS, June 12: A fresh report by a United Nations investigator on the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has reported progress in its work and applauds Syria for cooperating with the investigation.

Secretary General Kofi Annan, who received the report from Serge Brammertz, the Commissioner of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC), has sent it to the 15-member UN Security Council

The Security council has scheduled an open meeting and consultations to discuss the report with Mr. Brammertz on Wednesday, a UN spokesman said.

The IIIC has already reported finding evidence pointing to both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the bomb attack. Since its last report was submitted in March, Mr Brammertz has held a number of high-level meetings, including one with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The second report said Syria — which had been accused of obstructing the probe into Rafik Hariri’s death — has cooperated in a ‘generally satisfactory’ manner. The team sought an extension of up to one year to finish its work.

Some senior Syrian officials have been implicated in the Plot to assassinate Rafik Hariri — a quiet opponent of Syrian domination in Lebanon— and 22 others.

Mr Brammertz, in the report, spoke of an ‘improved cooperation’ from Syria, which in the past bristled at suggestions of complicity in the murder of the former prime minister.