Terrorists rattle Bruno star

In his various comedy incarnations Sacha Baron Cohen has provoked the ire of numerous victims of his duplicitous wit. He has angered the black and Jewish communities and offended Kazakhstan, but never, until now, has he received a threat from a terrorist organisation.

Yesterday it emerged that the 37-year-old creator of Ali G and Borat had stepped up his personal security arrangements after a Palestinian militia group issued a veiled threat against the star, following the portrayal of it in Baron Cohen's latest film, Bruno.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades said it was "very upset" about a scene in the film - in which Baron Cohen plays a gay, Austrian fashion reporter - which shows Bruno ridicule Ayman Abu Aita, a man identified in the film as the leader of the terrorist group. The organisation, which claimed responsibility for at least 52 civilian deaths between 2002 and 2004, released a statement to a Jerusalem-based journalist which said: " The movie was part of a conspiracy against the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades."

Mr Abu Aita insists he is no longer involved in the Martyrs' Brigades and claims he was tricked into taking part in the movie after being told it was a documentary. He has threatened to sue Baron Cohen, calling him "a big liar", and has said: "This man, I think he is not a man. He is not saying the truth about me."

A spokesman for Baron Cohen would not comment on the threat.

- INDEPENDENT