The German military, which commands the marine component of the United Nations force in Lebanon, is prepared to defend itself against suicide attacks, a defence ministry spokesman said on Monday.
The top-selling Bild newspaper had reported, citing German military and intelligence sources, that the navy feared attacks mounted by the Hizbullah militia using speed boats loaded with explosives.
It said that small craft were difficult to trace on radar and that the navy was now equipping its command bridges with heavy machine guns to repel potential attackers.
Defence ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe told a regular government news conference that the navy was prepared for attacks and confirmed that frigates such as the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, stationed off the Lebanese coast, had such firearms.