MANILA, Philippines — Militants linked to al-Qaida plotted to assassinate the Philippine president and bomb foreign embassies, officials said today.

Military chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said the assassination plot allegedly was hatched by the extremist Abu Sayyaf group and its Indonesia-based ally, Jemaah Islamiyah.

Opposition groups dismissed the allegation as government scare tactics to prevent people from joining protests Friday to demand Arroyo's resignation over corruption charges.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Prestoza, head of the Presidential Security Group, said police uncovered the plot last week. "It's not only the president who is the target, but also other people ... and embassies," he said without offering specifics.

CAIRO, Egypt — The purported leader of al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq called in a new posting on a militant Web site today for attacks on Israel and proposed that Iraq's territory be a "launching pad" to seize Jerusalem.In the 30-minute audiotape, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, said to head the Islamic State of Iraq, lashed out at Arab and Palestinian groups — especially the Palestinian Hamas — for failing to liberate the Palestinians.He also called on Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, to break away from the group's political leadership and liberate Jerusalem, or Al-Quds as the city is called in Arabic.The new posting came as Israeli security instructed embassies and Jewish institutions around the world to go on alert for fear of revenge attacks for a car bomb that killed a top-wanted terrorist killed by a car bomb Tuesday.

ATHENS, Greece — A strong earthquake struck southern Greece today, sending people fleeing from buildings in southern cities. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the quake, which was felt as far away as Cairo, Egypt.The Athens Geodynamic Institute gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and said the quake had an epicenter beneath the seabed 140 miles south-southwest of Athens. The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the preliminary magnitude at 7.3, but later revised it downward to 6.7. It struck shortly after noon.Seismologists said aftershocks were possible.