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| Southeast Asia |
| JI targeted Bangkok tourism, say Thais |
| 2003-06-12 |
| EFL Thai police claim captured members of a local Jemaah Islamiah terrorist cell planned to attack areas of Bangkok popular with young Australians and other western backpackers in a violent reprise of last year's Bali bombing. The alleged targets included the Khao San Road district, the Soi Nana western nightclub area and shopping centres along Sukhumvit Road, as well as famous Bangkok tourist sites. The standard target list Thai officials said documents and maps seized from the homes of three JI suspects in the southern province of Narathiwat detailed plans to bomb the tourist sites and five western diplomatic missions in the capital, including the Australian Embassy. The three suspects have been linked by Thai authorities to Arifin bin Ali, the alleged ringleader of an earlier JI plot to bomb western embassies in Singapore and a scheme to hijack an airliner and crash it into Singapore's Changi Airport. Bin Ali was arrested in Bangkok on May 16 and quietly repatriated to Singapore the next day. The three Thais were arrested on Tuesday just hours before the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, pledged during a meeting in Washington with US President George Bush to introduce tougher anti-terrorism laws. Thai Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Chumphon Manmai said Maisuri Haji Abdulloh, the owner of an Islamic school in Narathiwat, and his son, Muyahi Haji Doloh, had confessed to being members of JI and admitted meeting bin Ali several times at the school last October to plan the Bangkok attacks. Lieutenant-General Chumphon said the third man arrested on Tuesday, a local doctor and pharmacy owner, Waemahadi Wae-dao, had denied being a member of JI but had confessed to producing fake passports for use by the others. He said they had drawn up detailed plans to use car bombs to attack the five embassies and the Bangkok tourist areas. Trying for another Bali, glad they bagged them. Keep looking, there will be more. There's too much sinning going on in Bangkok for them to overlook. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 All my old haunts were on the target list... they're certainly soft targets and I knew it was only a matter of time before they fell into the crosshairs. Congrats to Bangkok's finest for foiling the plans. Hope they stay on the case. Thailand is the land of smiles and that's got to just drive the Islamists absolutely nuts. It seems there's nothing so un-Islamic as having a good time. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-06-12 14:48:32 |