BEIRUT
Lebanese authorities have beefed up security around the Russian embassy in Beirut after receiving intelligence reports that the embassy would be targeted by "a major terrorist operation," a security official said Wednesday.
"Foreign intelligence agencies informed Lebanese authorities that a major terrorist operation was being hatched with the Russian embassy in Beirut as its target," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.
Observers have suggested that militant groups might target the Russian embassy due to Moscow's overt support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime.
"The Russian embassy, in coordination with Lebanese security forces, has taken the necessary measures to protect its personnel," the official asserted.
Last November, the al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for an attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut which killed 24 people, including the Iranian culture attaché.
Lebanon, currently facing an increasingly precarious security situation, has seen a total of ten bombings since last August.
Most of the attacks have targeted strongholds of Shiite militant group Hezbollah, whose involvement in the Syrian conflict next door has drawn condemnation from Sunni-Muslim quarters both inside and outside Lebanon.
By Wassim Seif al-Din
englishnews@aa.com.tr
