WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (AFP) - US investigators have arrived in the west African country of Gambia to assist authorities in a probe of an alleged plot to kill the US ambassador there, the State Department said Monday. "Special agents of the Diplomatic Security service arrived in Banjul over the weekend to assist in the investigation," said Lynn Cassel, a department spokeswoman. On Friday, Cassel said Gambia had informed the United States that it had arrested two people Thursday suspected of plotting to kill US ambassador Jackson McDonald and that Washington took the allegations "very seriously." On Sunday, Gambian Interior Minister Osman Badjie said the country's security forces were questioning a man suspected of involvement in the plot who had been arrested in a hotel on the outskirts of the capital. He would not reveal the man's identity and refused to give any further comment. Cassel could offer no explanation as to why Badjie had referred to only one person being in custody, noting the Gambians had said two people were involved. However, she again praised Banjul for its "outstanding" cooperation in the matter. Cassel declined to elaborate on the nature of the alleged threat, saying "it is premature to speculate while the investigation is still underway." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~