A U.N.-backed court on Tuesday began reading the verdict in the case of four Hezbollah members charged with conspiracy to carry out the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others.

The assassination plunged Lebanon into what was then its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, leading to the withdrawal of Syrian forces and setting the stage for years of confrontation between rival political forces.

Several family members were in attendance at the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon, including Rafik al-Hariri's son Saad.