A U.N.-backed court probing the 2005 murder of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafik Hariri on Thursday submitted a sealed indictment and arrest warrants to the country's prosecutor general, Lebanese officials said.

Here are some key events in since Hariri's assassination:

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen confirmed on June 28 an indictment relating to the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri and others, STL's press office announced in a statement.

"The indictment and accompanying arrest warrant(s) were transmitted to the Lebanese authorities on 30 June, 2011," the press office noted.

Below are the most frequently asked questions about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as published on the court's website.

The STL was set up in The Hague in 2007 by the United Nations to try those alleged to have carried out the bomb attack that assassinated former PM Rafik Hariri.

Former premier Saad Hariri said Thursday that the cabinet should uphold Lebanon’s commitments towards the international tribunal and has no excuse in escaping its responsibilities.

In a statement issued by his press office, Hariri described the release of the indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as a "historic moment" for Lebanon.

The March 14 forces hailed the indictment and arrest warrants submitted to Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case on Thursday.

"This is a big day for Lebanon," March 14 General-Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid told Agence France Presse. "We have been waiting for this for six years.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq announced on Thursday the government’s approval of its policy statement, referring it to parliament for the vote of confidence.

He said in a press conference after the ratification of the statement: “Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed during the session that calm and responsible dialogue pervaded the sessions drafting the statement.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Thursday that the indictment in the murder case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri paves the way for a fair trial before the Lebanese, Arab, and international public.

He said before reporters: “The new government should follow up on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s functioning and its abandonment is treason against the martyrs and all Lebanese.”

Media reports have stated that the indictment in the murder case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri includes the names of four suspects: Mustafa Badreddine, who is close to Hizbullah, Salim Ayyash, Hassan Aneissy, known as Hassan Issa, and Assad Sabra.

Born in 1963 in the southern town of Harouf, Ayysah is a Civil Defense volunteer and a member of Hizbullah.

Three judges from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed over to General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza on Thursday a copy of the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

The indictment urges Lebanese authorities to issue arrest warrants against four Lebanese that are close to Hizbullah, media reports said.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel assured the Lebanese that the security situation is stable and that the release of the indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will not have any repercussions on the ground.

Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio station (100.5) that the “indictment is just an indictment and it’s not a final verdict, so why all the fuss about making a security deployment as if something has happened.”