BANGKOK, Thailand (24 Dec 2004) -- Terrorists are plotting attacks next year at tourist resorts across Thailand, according to documents found in the house of a fugitive leader of the country's Islamic insurgency, a senior security official said. Thailand's Special Investigation Department today said the documents also implicate five religious teachers in connection with the violence in the deep South that has killed more than 500 people since the beginning of this year. SID director-general Mr Sombat Amornwiwat said officials searched a house in Yala belonging to Yusof Waeduramae and found a number of documents that showed he has strong links with a separatist movement. The rebels also plan to turn three Muslim-dominated provinces in Thailand's south into a base for international terrorist groups, he said. The plans indicate the insurgents want to broaden a conflict in the south and fuel concerns that their cause is gaining support among Islamic extremists outside the country. Gen. Kitti Rattanachaya, a senior security adviser to Prime Minister Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, said the seized documents indicate the separatists want to escalate their fight against the Buddhist central government next year. "The situation will be terrifying as the terrorists open war on all fronts to divert attention from the southern area," Gen. Kitti said. | | He said the documents show that in 2005, the militants plan to attack "soft targets" such as the tropical beach resorts of Pattaya and Phuket, which draw tourist from around the world. Gen. Kitti added that last year's arrest in Thailand of Al-Qaida-linked terror suspect Hambali proved that international extremists had operated in the country for sometime. SOURCE - The Nation |
