Lebanon has come under increasing U.S. pressure to cooperate in the looming war on terrorism with attention focusing on seven individuals and training camps near Sidon.

Lebanese officials said Washington has demanded information on seven people living in Lebanon and believed linked to Saudi billionaire Osama Bin Laden. They include names of those said to have participated in the attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11.

One of them names given to Lebanese authorities was Mohammed Atta, Middle East Newsline reported. The FBI has identified Atta as one of five terrorists who commandeered American Airlines flight 11 which crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

Other names on the list are Zayed JarahAbdu,l Aziz Amrai and a Dutch national, Johannes Hugres. The names presented were submitted by Interpol earlier this month.

Western intelligence sources said Bin Laden agents are believed to have been trained at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein Hilwe near Sidon. The camp hosts a range of Palestinian, Lebanese and Islamic insurgency groups.

The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah has objected to Lebanese cooperation with any U.S. counterterrorism campaign. The movement has accused Washington of using its campaign to attack Muslims around the world.

"What is more dangerous about the looming American war is the bid to categorize people, groups and countries as terrorist merely because they adopted an anti-U.S. line," Hizbullah spiritual leader Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said.

But Lebanese chief prosecutor Adnan Addoum said he obtained the green light from Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to respond to the Interpol request. The Lebanese agreement to cooperate with Interpol has been approved by Syria, officials said. Syria has been wooed by the prospect of aid from Washington and the European Union should Damascus cooperate in the U.S. investigation of Bin Laden.

Lebanese officials said there are several people with the name Atta in Lebanon. They include such names as Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim Abu Atta and Mohammed Jamal Eddin Allah Atta.

"Names will be declared soon to prevent any misinterpretations that might harm Lebanon and the Lebanese reputation," Addoum said.

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