Grenade attack on British consulate

Grenade attack on British consulate

Police examine the blast in Beirut

A grenade was thrown at Britain's honorary consulate in the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, on Monday.

The honorary consul in Guayaquil, Colin Armstrong, told local television station Ecuavisa he thought the attack could be a protest against the war in Iraq.

No one was hurt in the attack, and the grenade did little damage.

In what appears to be another anti-war protest in Lebanon on Monday, a small explosion damaged the outer wall of the British Council building.

The explosion in Ecuador shattered windows on the ground floor of the building.

Police General Edgar Vaca told the Associated Press news agency that a group called the People's Revolutionary Militias had claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail.

The e-mail condemned the United States and Britain for attacking Iraq.

Leaflets

Since August, the group has exploded three small bombs, including one in the capital, Quito.

In prior attacks, the group has scattered leaflets urging Ecuadoreans not to vote in elections last year and later criticising President Lucio Gutierrez for launching economic austerity measures.

Security sources in Beirut said an unknown assailant threw a stick of dynamite at Britain's cultural centre after the office closed for the night.

"There was a small explosion in the wall outside the British Council. There was a little damage in the wall outside, but no one was hurt," a British embassy official said.