Judicial sources told "The Daily Star" that the trial of former Minister Michel Samaha and two Syrian army officers, who are accused of plotting terrorist attack in Lebanon, was delayed because the judiciary was unable to notify Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, the head of the Syrian National Security Bureau, of the trial.

"There has been no response yet on whether Mamlouk was informed of the trial, thus it was postponed," the sources said.

The sources told the newspaper that Samaha, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, looked pale and uncomfortable and that he spoke with a shaky voice at the Military Tribunal in Beirut.

The source said Mamlouk and Colonel Adnan would be tried in absentia.