BEIRUT, Lebanon - A key witness in the UN commissioned probe into the death of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri has died in a car crash. Nawwar Habib Dunna, was killed on Saturday night after the vehicle he was travelling in plunged down a ditch on a road some 30 kilometres east of the capital Beirut. Dunna owned a telephone supplies store where several of the cell phones believed to have been used by those who plotted Hariri's February assassination were bought.

Investigators from the commission of inquiry headed by German judge Detlev Mehlis questioned Dunna a few weeks ago in connection with the case.

Police said they found in a pocket of the jacket Dunna was wearing when he died a letter dated 21 August, summoning him to appear before the commission.

Another man travelling in the car, Walid Hasan Samaan, described as a friend and colleague of Dunna's who was injured in the crash has been taken to hospital in the nearby town of Bhannes where his condition has been described as serious. (AKI)