Syria categorically denied on Tuesday reports that it has information about the terrorist al- Qaida organization in Lebanon and that it is ready to offer them to Washington as "baseless".

The press office of Syran Ministry of Communication and Technology made the denial in a statement, the official SANA news agency reported.

The French AFP news agency carried a report by Britain's Sky News television on Sunday that Syria is prepared to tell the United States the whereabouts of al-Qaida cells in Lebanon.

They quoted Syrian Communication and Technology Minister Amr Salem as saying that "Syria has real hard knowledge."

The Syrian statement denied the reports, saying that "the news is categorically baseless and these issues have not been raised at all during the interview or in any talk of the minister with this news network or any media side."

The press office of the ministry has asked representative of the Sky News network about the subject and got an official statement that the al-Qaida issue was not part of the interview and the network did not say the minister has made such remarks, said the statement.

"Such lies and deviation are only to deform the honorable stances of Syria", it stressed.

Source: Xinhua