Sydney, Aug 21: Hambali, the captured leader of al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian operations, has denied reports he planned to bomb a 21-nation summit in Bangkok to be attended by US President George W Bush, an Australian newspaper reported today. The paper, quoting an Asian intelligence officer who has questioned Hambali since his capture in Thailand last week, said the militant was plotting instead to bomb foreign embassies and other targets in Bangkok.
Thai officials earlier said Hambali had been planning an attack on the October summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group, Apec.
And US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said at the weekend that there were still concerns Hambali's group could target the summit. But the officer quoted by the paper said Hambali denied this.
"He told us he is looking at other targets, not Apec," the officer said yesterday. He told the daily that possible targets included foreign missions "like your embassy" and the US Embassy.
The paper quoted its sources as saying Hambali - an Indonesian national and suspected leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group - had lived in Thailand for most of the past 18 months, regularly travelling between Narathiwat, in the country's south, and Bangkok. Bureau Report