National Security Minister Carmelo Abela quashed rumours the army was placed on high alert yesterday because of some imminent threat.

An internal army decision to upgrade the weapons carried by soldiers seems to have fuelled the wild rumours that were doing the rounds on e-mail, SMS and group chat applications.

“The army took an internal measure to increase the arming state. There is no higher alert and no need for alarm or to be worried,” Mr Abela said.

He insisted that the internal decision followed normal procedure.

Messages, often purporting to report the words of a friend whose husband was a soldier, spoke of an army placed on high alert because of an unidentified threat to security.

But the speculation got wilder as time passed by with some saying there was a ship full of armed Islamic militants outside Maltese waters.

Coming on the back of the terrorist attack on the Maltese-owned Corinthia hotel in Tripoli, the rumours gained credence.