Blast linked to wanted men's family: Thaksin By Sasithorn Simaporn and Panarat Thepgumpanat in Sungai Kolok, Thailand February 19, 2005
The first car bomb of a separatist uprising in Thailand's Muslim south was planted by relatives of hunted militant leaders, the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, said yesterday. "We know it was done by children of people subject to our arrest warrants who are pressing the Government to stop hunting them, not foreigners or any people linked to foreign groups," Mr Thaksin said of Thursday's blast. But the governor of Narathiwat province, where the bomb killed six people and wounded more than a dozen in one of the deadliest attacks since the uprising began in January last year, said he was not so sure there was no foreign involvement. The attack on a town on the Malaysian border that draws tourists with its bars and brothels was too wicked for Thais to have carried out, Governor Pracha Taerat said. "If they were Thai, they would not have planted such a powerful bomb as this, which is similar to those in Iraq," he said. There has been speculation that Jemaah Islamiah, the South-East Asian branch of al-Qaeda, may be involved in the violence that has claimed almost 600 lives. Advertisement AdvertisementMilitants have unleashed several motorcycle bombs, triggered by mobile telephone, but security officials said a car bomb was a step up in sophistication. The car, stolen from an army camp two years ago, was parked near a busy hotel hosting a wedding party. The fertiliser bomb inside it, weighing at least 50 kilograms, wrecked cars, shattered windows and damaged shops over a wide area. "They aimed for a wider scale of victims. It is an act of terrorism," Mr Pracha said. Mr Thaksin said it should not be classified as a car bomb but as a car with a bomb inside and that its effect was made more powerful by its placement near power poles and a shop with gas canisters. Mr Thaksin, who spent two days in the region this week to proclaim his determination to end the insurgency and order the security forces to be take more of an initiative, said he expected more bombs. In the attack, four people were killed at a noodle shop and two died in hospital. About a dozen were still being treated for injuries. Reuters http://smh.com.au/news/World/Blast-linked-to-wanted-mens-family-Thaksin/2005 /02/18/1108709439222.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
