Lebanese security forces foil attack in capital

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s National News Agency says local security forces have foiled a suicide bombing attempt in the capital’s bustling commercial district and arrested the would-be attacker.

The national news agency says the attacker was wearing an explosive belt. The agency says he was stopped shortly before midnight Saturday before he walked into a coffee shop in the popular Hamra district. The agency says the young man was injured. There were conflicted reports about the identity of the attacker.

Lebanon has largely been spared the spillover from the civil war in neighbouring Syria, where fighting has raged for nearly six years.

During the holiday seasons, Lebanese security forces have been on high alert.