Jordon 'foiled plot to poison water for US troops'

Jordanian authorities have foiled two recent Iraqi terror plots, it was reported today.

One involved Iraqi diplomats who allegedly planned to contaminate water supplies to Jordanian and US troops on the country's desert border with Iraq, diplomats in Amman said today. Five Iraqi diplomats were expelled.

The water is pumped from Zarqa 17 miles north-east of Amman.It supplies villages in Jordan's eastern desert, where there are several army and air bases, including one near the Iraqi border where hundreds of US soldiers are manning anti-missile batteries.

The second - in which four Iraqis were arrested last week - allegedly involved a plot to bomb the Hyatt. The hotel is frequented by Americans and other Westerners, including about 70 journalists.

The Iraqi Embassy spokesman Jawad al-Ali told Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo that the allegations were "completely untrue" and that Iraq was keen to preserve Jordan's security.