Thailand Terror warning .

[TBWG]

British tourists travelling to Thailand have been warned of a high terrorist threat level and urged to exercise caution.

The warning was issued by the Foreign Office came as Thai police questioned a Lebanese man with suspected of having links to Hezbollah.

Thailand's deputy prime minister, Chalerm Yubamrung, said Thai authorities received a tip-off before New Year of a planned attack, which was said to target Israelis.

"At first we were told the Palestinians were behind it but it turned out to be the Hezbollah," AP quoted him as saying.

    No terrorist attacks will be allowed to take place. If they have disagreement, go fight somewhere else.

Thailand's deputy prime minister, Chalerm Yubamrung

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, has ministers in Lebanon's untiy government but also maintains a strong military force independent of the national army.

The group fought a two-month war with Israeli in 2006 and is on the official US blacklist of foreign terrorist organisations.

Thai authorities had been "following two Lebanese men and called in one of them ... for questioning," Chalerm said.

"Technically the two men have not committed any crimes under the Thai law, so we could only use the immigration law to keep this one suspect in custody."

Earlier, the US embassy had warned of a possible attack by "foreign terrorists" and told its citizens to be careful in areas of Bangkok frequented by tourists.

However, Chalerm said he was "confident" the danger had passed.

"No terrorist attacks will be allowed to take place. If they have disagreement, go fight somewhere else," he said.

Thai defense minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa said preliminary intelligence suggested the alleged plot was planned to take place between January 13 and 15, with synagogues and the Israeli embassy possible targets.

Tourist areas such as Bangkok's popular Khao San Road were also mentioned as potentially vulnerable.

He suggested that the planned attack may have been related to Iran's increasing strained relationship with the US over sanction imposed over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In 1994, the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok was targeted for attack but the plot failed after the driver of the explosives-laden truck fled following a minor traffic accident.


TBWG

PS Watch your back Almog!
 

[gotlost]

Yingluck says "What me Worry. No problem"

PM Yingluck brushes aside worries over terror attack plan in Thailand

BANGKOK, 14 January 2012 (NNT) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has assured the public of their safety while conceding that the government has been aware about possible terror attempts in the country for some time and related security agencies have been keeping a close eye on the matter all along.
 
The Prime Minister said on Friday that both the National Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Royal Thai Police have been monitoring the reports on possible terror plots in Bangkok. The PM has also instructed Deputy Prime Minister, Police Captain Chalerm Yubumrung, and National Police Chief, Pol Gen Priewpan Damapong, to follow up on the issue and report back within 24 hours.
 
The prime minister's comment came after the US Embassy in Bangkok post on its website a warning of possible severe terrorist attacks against American nationals in the Thai capital.
 
PM Yingluck stated that reports on terror attempts in Thailand have been around for some time and that the government has been keeping an eye on while preparing safety measures for the public after all this time.
 
When asked if the suspects have really been apprehended and about their affiliation to foreign terrorist groups, the PM confirmed that the suspects have been under police custody. While declining to disclose further, the Premier promised to share important information with the public, once available.
 

[Mod]

Hezbollah 'calls off attacks'

Suspect told police group has ditched its plan, Priewpan says, but patrols to go on
A Middle Eastern terrorist group had cancelled its plan to attack targets in Thailand after one of its members was arrested in Bangkok and the authorities learned about the plot, the national police chief quoted the suspect as saying yesterday.

Pol General Priewpan Damapong added, however, that the police would still be on guard, with patrolmen being deployed in areas that were possible targets, including popular tourist areas like Khao San Road and Soi Sukhumvit 22, as well as certain foreign embassies.

Priewpan said Lebanese man Atris Hussein, 48, who was arrested for suspected links with the Hezbollah militant group, yesterday admitted the plot to police interrogators.

"The suspect told us that the movement cancelled the plan after the authorities learned about it," he said, declining to provide any more details of the alleged confession.

The suspect has not been charged, as the plot was not carried out, according to the national police chief, who added that police are authorised by law to hold a suspect without charges for no more than 60 days.

He said the Metropolitan Police have stepped up security measures in certain areas of the city.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Police Lt-General Winai Thongsong said patrolmen, bomb-disposal units and sniffer dogs had been stationed at areas that could be possible targets, such as Khao San Road, Rambutri Road and Soi Sukhumvit 22.

The Lebanese man was arrested at the Suvarnabhumi Airport as he was attempting to leave Thailand. A hunt was on for another Lebanese man believed to be part of the plot. However, Hussein told police that he knew nothing about the other man, according to Priewpan.

On Friday, the US Embassy in Bangkok issued a terrorist threat warning in the capital. "Foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future," the embassy said in an emergency message posted on its website. US Ambassador Kristie Kenney said the threat was "real and very credible".

Other countries - including Israel, Canada and Australia - issued separate warnings for their citizens living in or visiting Bangkok about possible terrorist attacks.

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul yesterday expressed his "disappointment and unhappiness" over the warnings by the United States, Canada and Australia. He said he would summon the ambassadors from those countries to explain the warnings to him, or Thailand would issue retaliatory measures against such a move.

He said the countries failed to discuss the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before issuing their warnings.

Surapong said the government had taken all possible precautions to protect tourists and investors, adding that Thailand had good ties with countries all over the world and he did not think any country would want to attack the Kingdom.

In addition to the US, 11 other countries, including Britain, Sweden, Germany and Japan, advised their citizens to take caution while in Bangkok, according to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


'No cause for concern'

Senior officials responsible for security affairs yesterday tried to allay public concerns about possible terrorist attacks in Bangkok.

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha urged the public not to panic over the terror threat alerts, saying the Army and other responsible agencies were well prepared to ensure public safety. He said undue panic could affect the country's business sectors, particularly in this high season of tourist arrivals.

Prayuth said officials had possessed information on the terror warning for a while and that security agencies had been working on the matter continuously to ensure public safety.

Deputy Prime Minister Kowit Wattana, who is in charge of security affairs, yesterday played down the terrorist threat, saying: "There is no cause for concern as Thailand has always had careful security measures.

"Everything is all right. Don't worry. I and my authorities are taking good care of this matter," he said.

Meanwhile, Department of Special Investigation director-general Tarit Pengdith said yesterday his agency had detected no suspicious movements in the country regarding any terrorist group.

Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party asked the government to provide more details on the matter to avoid confusion among the public.

[TBWG]

"Everything is all right. Don't worry. I and my authorities are taking good care of this matter,"

Well thats a relief!


TBWG

[gotlost]

Jews in Bangkok targetted
Published: 15/01/2012 at 08:48 PM Online news: 
A suspected Hezbollah member arrested on Friday by police targetted Jews and Americans in Bangkok, Defence Minister Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa said today.


The militant group's plan was only to target certain public areas where large groups of Israelis and Americans were known to gather, such as Khao San Road, Gen Yutthasak told a news conference. No other provinces were on its list.

Gen Yutthasak said the group had chosen Bangkok as part of its plans to retaliate in every possible way against Israel, which it accused of masterminding the assassination of a top Hezbollah figure in Syria in 2008.

He said Thai security and intelligence agencies had received a tip-off from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency about movements by Hezbollah members in Thailand since Dec 18.

He insisted the group's movements were completely in the sights of the authorities, but they had yet to make any arrests because there was no evidence that the suspects had committed any offences. 

The reports initially indicated that two suspects linked to the Lebanon-based militant group had entered Thailand, but later said four or five suspects may have arrived in the kingdom.

Thai police were in charge of tracing two of the suspects, one of whom was identified as Atris Hussein, a Swedish-Lebanese man, who was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Mr Hussein allegedly admitted he came to Bangkok to carry out a terror attack but decided not to go ahead with it after his cover was blown by the authorities, the defence minister said.

In Beirut, Hezbollah official Ghaleb Abu Zainab told LBC television yesterday that Mr Hussein was not a Hezbollah member.

Gen Yutthasak insisted all other Hezbollah suspects had left the country.