The commission, in its 11th report to the U.N. Security Council, also said it has "additional elements corroborating the connection between the Hariri attack and other cases with which links had already been found."

"Preliminary indications also suggest that there may be a link between one additional case and the Hariri case," said the report by Commissioner Daniel Bellemare.

The commission requested a two-month extension of its mandate, to Feb. 28, "so that it can continue its investigation without interruption," the report said.

It pledged that "during the extension period the commission would gradually transfer operations, staff and assets to the Hague with a view of completing the transition by the time the tribunal starts functioning" on March 1.

The statement noted that "the launching of the tribunal does not mean that the investigation has been completed … the commission and the office of the prosecutor, once it begins to operate, must continue to gather evidence that would support an indictment before the tribunal."

It said the "office of the prosecutor of the tribunal will need to continue to investigate all the cases within the commission's current mandate in order to establish which of the cases are connected to the Hariri case in the manner required by the tribunal's statute."

"It will also require the full cooperation and support of the Lebanese authorities, as well as the member states, in order to conduct effective investigations and prosecutions," the statement added.

It said Syria has "provided generally satisfactory cooperation."

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