MI6 foiled Gaddafi's suicide bomb assassination plot against Western diplomats

British intelligence agency M16 has exposed a plot by former Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to assassinate Western diplomats and his country’s revolutionary leaders, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.

Sources told The Telegraph that the Libyan intelligence service had initiated a “sustained effort” to perpetrate suicide and car bomb attacks against members of the National Transitional Council.

Hague lauded M16’s “skill, integrity and professionalism” efforts in leaking the plot.

“The proposals are detailed. They set out the planned operation, the potential risks and the likely benefits of the information to be gained,” he said.

Hague said diplomatic and military success in Libya owed to “effective intelligence” and with intelligence agencies’ use of “global capabilities to provide insight into the intentions of pro-Gaddafi forces.”

He further said intelligence agencies had worked hard to track battles occurring in Brega, Misrata and Tripoli.

"They worked to identify key political figures, develop contacts with the emerging opposition and provide political and military intelligence.The agencies obtained firm intelligence, were able to warn the NTC of the threat and the attacks were prevented," Hague said.

He further said British ministers were informed when the plot was foiled and that British officials approached the “government in question” and arranged the "lawful arrest of a key figure in the network which disrupted the conspiracy before such plans could be developed."