Report: Al-Hasan Assassination Probe Reaches 2nd Phase amid Advanced Lab Analysis by FBI

An FBI team that helped investigate the blast that killed Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan last month sought to make a specific and deep analysis of the explosives used in the bombing, security sources said Friday.

The sources told An Nahar daily that only the U.S., Britain and Russia have advanced labs to reach the required results.

Al-Hasan was killed in a powerful car bomb explosion in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district on Oct. 19. His bodyguard and a Lebanese woman were also killed in the blast that left scores injured and huge devastation.

The FBI team has returned to the U.S. to examine information and data from the blast scene it had requested from Lebanese security authorities. It will now submit a detailed report to Lebanese authorities on the outcome of its work.

The FBI members, who came at the request of the Lebanese government, hailed the investigation of the Lebanese team which has reached the second phase of the probe after the end of data gathering at the scene, the sources said.

The first phase included the analysis of footage from cameras installed in the area and the interrogation of witnesses, they told An Nahar.

The bomb scene will be reopened for traffic soon, the security sources said.