Asia warned of chemical terrorism
Asian governments were warned yesterday to prepare for possible deadly chemical attacks by terrorist groups, such as the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI). The warning came at a conference here, attended by more than 70 chemical weapons experts, security officials and policy-makers from 12 countries including Japan, China, Canada, the United States, Singapore and Thailand. âThere is a growing concern of the potential threat posed by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons (CBRN) in the hands of terrorists,â said Zainal Abidin Zain, director-general of the South-East Asia Regional Centre for Counter-terrorism. âAmong all of the CBRN weapons, chemical weapons are potentially the easiest to be manufactured.â Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, is slated to talk on a âRecently Recovered Jemaah Islamiah Chem-Bio Manualâ during the five-day seminar.
Posted by: Paul Moloney 2004-07-06 |