Lebanon denies Beirut terror plot

The US mission was among those allegedly threatened

Jordan has helped Lebanese security agents foil a series of attacks on foreign embassies in Beirut, a Jordanian Government official said on Tuesday.

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attacks were ordered by one of the 27 groups US President George W Bush has listed as targets in his anti-terrorism war.

A rally against the US military action in Tripoli

The attacks, allegedly planned by Asbat al-Ansar - a Lebanon-based Palestinian movement - were due to take place on several embassies including the US, British and Jordanian missions but were foiled a few days ago, the official said.

But a Lebanese security official, who also asked to remain anonymous, denied the report, stressing Lebanon remained stable.

Lebanese denial

"We formally deny this information", the official said.

An article on Tuesday in ad-Dustour, Jordan's second largest newspaper, also indicated a recent security alert.

Jordan's Information Minister Saleh Qallah was quoted in the paper as saying "security authorities have foiled terrorist plots against a number of our embassies abroad".

The Arab embassies that would have been targeted are part of the US-led international coalition against terrorism, the Jordanian official said.

Jordan's King Abdullah has been targeted by Bin Laden

Two men were arrested in the Lebanese city of Tripoli for "planning terrorist acts, illegal dealing in weapons of war and discharging firearms," judicial sources said earlier on Tuesday.

The Lebanese official denied that the arrests were related to the alleged plot.

The French news agency AFP cited the daily an-Nahar newspaper as saying one of the men, Daniel Ahmad Samarji, 22, had allegedly revealed that armed groups had been formed in Tripoli and the Dinniyeh hills overlooking the city "to carry out attacks against American interests in the Middle East".

The British consulate in Beirut was closed on Friday, but officials said it was because of a communications equipment malfunction that shut down the visa issuing system.

US officials have revealed that Washington has also averted four bombing plots on buildings overseas since the 11 September attacks, AP news agency reported.

The officials said the targeted buildings were the US embassy in Paris, an American building in Turkey, embassy structures in Yemen and a Nato building in Brussels.

Jordan targeted in the past

Jordan has been the target of several plots linked to Osama bin Laden in the past.

The biggest threat occurred two years ago when a group of Arab men plotted to carry out New Year attacks against Americans and Israelis in hotels and tourist sites, using poison gas and explosives. The plot was uncovered in November 2000.

Just months later, Bin Laden is said to have been planning to target the Jordanian royal family as they holidayed on a yacht in the Mediterranean.

Jordanian security evacuated them after a tip-off that a motorboat filled with explosives was to slam into the royal boat.