A United Nations-backed tribunal has released the names of four men wanted for the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon identified the suspects Friday as Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra.

The four are members of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, which has denied involvement in the killing.

The tribunal said the pre-trial judge ordered the lifting of confidentiality on the names, biographical information, photos and charges against the four, who were indicted last month.

The names were known in Lebanese circles and circulated widely on the Internet. VOA has not published the names previously.

Friday's statement quoted one of the prosecutors as saying that making the information available to the public may increase the likelihood of the accused being apprehended. The tribunal has issued arrest warrants for the four.

Mr. Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive truck bombing in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.