BEIRUT, Dec 10: The Lebanese army said it had foiled a bomb attack on the US embassy in Beirut on Wednesday, arresting two men, one of whom was said to be carrying explosives, at the gates of the fortress-like complex.

“At the gate of the US embassy in Awkar, army forces arrested a Lebanese man and a Palestinian accompanying him as they tried to bring a bomb into the embassy complex,” the army said in a statement.

“Investigations have begun with them and work is ongoing to arrest all those involved and bring them to justice,” the statement said.

A Lebanese security source said soldiers searched a man, in his 30s, carrying a sports bag at the external entrance of the embassy and found one kilogram of explosives inside. He said shortly after the incident a Palestinian man was arrested in the area on suspicion of links to the detained man.

Witnesses said the heavily fortified hilltop embassy, which limits the movement of its staff for security reasons, remained open after the incident.

EMBASSY GUARDS: The US embassy confirmed the army had arrested the man at its gates after US embassy guards alerted Lebanese authorities of a suspicious person.