Bangkok, Sept 24: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed today that terrorists had plotted to launch an attack on an Israeli El Al airliner in Bangkok. "Some groups testified that they had plotted to destroy Israeli airliners but we have a tight security operation particularly regarding Israeli aircraft," Thaksin told reporters without elaborating.
He urged the public "not to panic" about potential attacks as Thai security authorities were closely monitoring foreign intelligence reports.
The admission came after an Israeli television report claimed yesterday that Thai Police had thwarted an al-Qaeda plan to attack the airline in the Thai capital. The report said police arrested a man at Bangkok's international airport allegedly filming around the El Al Airline counter and in a raid on his home found a plan to attack passengers as they headed to their plane.
The Israeli report said the arrest was made three months ago, and that Bangkok airport was considered by Israeli authorities to be a "sensitive" area for possible al-Qaeda attacks. Defence Minister General Thammarak Issarangkun Na Ayutthaya had earlier rejected the report as "not true" and said there were no terrorists left in Thailand following the arrest of Asia's most wanted man, Hambali.
Hambali, who is believed to be the pointman in Asia for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network as well as the operations chief of regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was captured in central Thailand on August 11. Bureau Report