Lebanon charges 'terror suspects'

Lebanese security forces had the men under surveillance

Lebanon has charged 13 people suspected of being members of al-Qaeda with planning attacks, Lebanon's military prosecutor has said.

Ahmed Uwaidat said the men were also charged with forging official documents and possessing unlicensed weapons.

The seven Syrians, three Lebanese, one Saudi, one Palestinian and one Jordanian with Lebanese nationality were arrested about two weeks ago.

The men were said to have been planning attacks in Iraq and Israel.

Mr Uwaidat said the men had been charged with "establishing a gang to carry out terrorist acts, forging official and private documents and possessing unlicensed arms".

Their suspected links with the Islamic militant group will be investigated further by military judge Rashid Mizhar.

Islamists linked to al-Qaeda are thought to have a presence in Palestinian refugee camps, where gunfights between Islamists and nationalists broke out in 2003.

In 2004, thousands of people protested over the death in custody of a man arrested for an alleged al-Qaeda plot to bomb foreign embassies in Beirut.

The Lebanese authorities said Ismail Khatib died of a heart attack, but protesters accused security forces of torturing Mr Khatib to death after his arrest.