JORDAN: Jordanian intelligence foiled an al-Qaeda plot to mount a suicide attack against a key civilian target, state television said yesterday.
"The intelligence department has foiled a terrorist plot of a group belonging to the al-Qaeda network, of Iraqi, Libyan and Saudi nationals, to execute by a suicide bombing an operation targeting a critical civilian installation," state television said.
The authorities did not name the installation that was targeted but said they had confiscated 4kg (9lb) of explosives that were to be used in a suicide operation.
The government said three militants were arrested - a Libyan national, Mohammad Darsi (25), who was to be the suicide bomber, and two Iraqis, Muhsen al-Lousi and Abdul Karim al-Jumaili, who gave him logistical support.
They had been under surveillance by the security forces. The circumstances and exact timing of their arrest were not revealed.
Three Iraqis and a Saudi militant were part of the plot and were believed to be in hiding in an undisclosed neighbouring country, state television said.
Those arrested would go on trial at the state security court soon, a security source said. The source said they had undergone detailed interrogation.
Jordan, a close US ally and one of two Arab nations to have a peace treaty with Israel, was the target of an al-Qaeda-linked attack last November on luxury hotels which killed 60 people.
Several militant underground cells have been uncovered in the past few years and a number of militants have been arrested for plotting attacks on US, Israeli and western targets.