WASHINGTON, March 11: The Bush administration will act soon to impose firm sanctions against Syria, which it accuses of sponsoring terrorism, a State Department official said on Wednesday.

"I think you'll see the implementation very shortly, and I think it will be a very firm implementation of the Syrian Accountability Act and the intent behind it," William Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told a committee in the House of Representatives.

The administration is expected to impose economic sanctions, rather than diplomatic ones, according to congressional sources and other people familiar with the matter.

Congress sent President George Bush legislation for the sanctions in November. Lawmakers have pressured Mr Bush since then to impose penalties on Syria, which Washington accuses of sponsoring terrorism. -Reuters