Saad Hariri says plot on his life uncovered

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saad al-Hariri, son and political heir of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, said in an interview published on Tuesday that he had left the country after a plot to kill him was uncovered.

Hariri has been living abroad for two months, citing security fears after a series of bombings and assassinations that followed his father's killing on February 14 fueled concerns the country was sliding into chaos.

Hariri told the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat he had left the country on the advice of foreign powers because of threats to his life. "But we also captured some people and knew their whereabouts in Lebanon and what they were plotting to do...," he said.

"We had confirmed information about groups planning for this (assassination) attempt," he told the paper in Paris without giving further details.

Hariri emerged as a key political figure in Lebanon after his father's death. His coalition won an overwhelming parliamentary majority in the first general elections after the withdrawal of Syrian troops in April.

Many in Lebanon blame the Hariri killing and ensuing bombings on Syria, the dominant force in Lebanon since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Damascus has denied any involvement.

A U.N. team is investigating the assassination and is expected to finish its report later in October.

Hariri said he would return to Lebanon once the government tightened its grip on security.

The government appointed Brigadier General Wafik Jizeeni on Tuesday to replace pro-Syrian Major General Jamil al-Sayyed as head of the General Security Directorate.

Sayyed, who quit the post two months after the Hariri killing, was arrested with three other pro-Syrian generals in August on the orders of U.N. investigators on suspicion of planning the murder.