Egypt says it blocked attack on embassy

CAIRO — Egyptian security forces thwarted a plan by an al-Qaida-linked cell to carry out a suicide attack on a foreign embassy, capturing three militants, the interior minister said Saturday.

Mohammed Ibrahim said the men, who he accused of having links to militants in the Middle East and Pakistan, were found in possession of 22 pounds of ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make bombs. He declined to say which embassy had been targeted.