In brief: Jordan says it foiled terror plot

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordanian authorities have arrested 11 suspected al-Qaida-linked militants for allegedly planning to attack shopping malls and Western diplomatic missions in the country, the government said Sunday.

The plot is the first to be unveiled since a triple hotel bombing in Amman almost seven years ago, which killed 60 people. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack, citing its rejection of Jordan’s alliance with the United States and its 1994 peace treaty with Israel.

Announcing the foiled plot, government spokesman Sameeh Maaytah said the suspects are all Jordanian and are in police custody.

Jordan’s state TV broadcast the names and headshots of the suspects – all men in their 20s and 30s, most of whom wore long beards. It identified them as “militants.”

Fighting continues in Libyan town

WADI DINAR, Libya – Pro-government militias battled fighters in a former stronghold of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday, the fifth straight day of clashes that have killed at least 30 people.

One year after Gadhafi’s death brought an end to Libya’s civil war, Bani Walid is the most significant city in the country to still resist the nation’s new authorities.

In Tripoli, some 200 protesters demonstrated in front of the parliament building to urge the end of the fighting, which they say is harming only civilians. The demonstration was dispersed when army units pulled up and opened fire above the heads of the crowd with heavy weaponry.

The official LANA news agency said at least 22 pro-government militiamen were killed during clashes Saturday. Pro-government militiamen said most of the casualties came during an ambush by fighters in the city.