The United States on Monday named Lebanese ex-information minister Michel Samaha to its global terror list for allegedly aiding Damascus launch assassinations in Lebanon.

Samaha, 64, was arrested in August by Lebanese authorities and accused of plotting to assassinate Lebanese leaders and of transporting explosives intoLebanonfor such attacks, the US Treasury said in a statement.

"TheUnited Stateswill continue to expose any attempts by the Assad regime to meddle in the affairs of its neighbors and further destabilize the region," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen.

"We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure that the sovereignty ofLebanonis respected and upheld."

Samaha, who has both Lebanese and Canadian citizenship, was minister of information and tourism in the 1990s government of Rafiq Hariri, who was himself killed in a massive car bombing on theBeirutseafront in 2005.

Samaha was officially listed as a "specially designated global terrorist" by the US State Department, accused of aiding the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to launch attacks inLebanon.

The Treasury slapped economic sanctions on him that freeze any assets he holds under US jurisdiction and forbids Americans from doing business with him.

Samaha was arrested on August 9 at his residence in Khenshara, 30 kilometers (18 miles) north ofBeiruton the order ofLebanon's attorney general.



Soran Ali