Embassy terror plot foiled

Italian and Lebanese authorities have arrested 10 alleged terrorists, thwarting plans to blow up the Italian Embassy in Beirut in a car bomb attack.

Plans for the attack were in an advanced phase, Italian news agency Ansa said yesterday. Police also seized around 100kg of explosives, the news agency said.

The arrests were carried out in Lebanon, Ansa said. The suspects, whose nationalities were not immediately clear, were alleged to be members of a Lebanese cell of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, an extremist organisation believed to have ties to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida.

The operation was carried out by Lebanese authorities in co-operation with the Italian military intelligence service, SISMI, according to Ansa.

Italian defence minister Antonio Martino issued a statement to thank SISMI.

The statement offered no details on the operation. A defence ministry spokesman declined to comment.