BEIRUT - Lebanese authorities on Friday arrested a Syrian national for giving false testimony to investigators trying to shed light on the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, a judicial source said.

Ibrahim Michel Jarjura is suspected of giving false testimony to both a UN probe and the Lebanese judiciary aimed at misleading investigators, the source said without giving further details.

His arrest brings to 12 the number of people detained in Lebanon over the February killing of the five-time premier in a massive Beirut seafront blast.

They include four Lebanese generals who were pivotal in the security system put in place by Syria, Lebanon's former political and military master until April.

The international probe says it has gathered statements from about 500 people and is working in close coordination with Lebanese justice.

The new head of the UN probe, Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, will take up his post in Beirut next week.

The 43-year-old, currently a deputy prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, was named on Wednesday to replace German investigator Detlev Mehlis.

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