Syria confirmed on Wednesday an assassination of a senior security officer last week, the independent Syria-news website reported.

Presidential Advisor for Political and Information Affairs Buthaina Shaaban made the confirmation in a statement to the press, saying Brigadier General Mohammad Suleiman was killed last Friday, said the report.

Investigation is underway to determine who committed this "heinous crime," Shaaban added.

This was Syria's first official reaction after the killing, which reportedly happened between Friday night and Saturday morning in a coastal resort near Tartous, a Mediterranean port city about 250 km northwest of Damascus.

Suleiman, 49, was reportedly in charge of "sensitive files" and was close to the Syrian leadership. He was not a public figure in Syria and many have never heard of his name before news spread of his assassination, according to the report.

Circulation of news concerning the army and the armed forces was prohibited in Syria unless through official sources, it added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)