Bangkok, Aug 22: Thailand today confirmed that before his arrest, Asian terrorist mastermind suspect Hambali had been plotting attacks on the embassies of the United States, Australia and Israel in Bangkok. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Hambali, who was nabbed on August 11 in the central city of Ayutthaya, was targeting the embassies rather than an upcoming Asia-Pacific leaders' summit, as earlier believed.
Thaksin confirmed a report yesterday in the Australian newspaper, which quoted two of Hambali's interrogators, who are Asians, as saying that he had the embassies in his sights. "In the initial interrogation right after his arrest he said" that he wanted to attack the embassies, Thaksin said.
Thai officials, including Thaksin and his Deputy Prime Minister, had initially said that Hambali, the Asian pointman of al-Qaida, was plotting to sabotage the October 20-21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit, which among others will be attended by President George W Bush. But Thaksin said today he had been misquoted and misunderstood.
"I told you (reporters) that he did not target the Apec summit. I said that his men went to inspect sensitive locations - US, Australian and Israeli interests."
Thaksin appeared to backtrack on his earlier claim that Hambali's network has been eliminated in Thailand, saying, "It is possible that some of Hambali's men are still hiding along the common border between Thailand and Malaysia." Bureau Report