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| An El Al Israel 747 jetliner is seen in this March, 2003 photo. (Wojtek Werpachowski/View Full Size) |
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Police in Thailand recently thwarted a
plot by the al-Qaeda network to launch an attack on an Israeli El Al airliner
in Bangkok, Israeli television reported.
Thai police arrested a man at Bangkok airport allegedly filming around the
El Al airline counter and found a plan to attack passengers as they headed
toward their plane in a raid on his home, the report said.
It gave no details about the man, who was arrested some three months ago,
but it said Bangkok airport was considered by Israeli authorities to be a
"sensitive" area for possible al-Qaeda attacks.
The New York Times reported Saturday that a suspected al-Qaeda leader called
Hambali told the US Central Intelligence Agency that the network planned
to attack passenger planes and two US-managed hotels in Bangkok.
He said the attacks would come at an international summit next month.
A Thai security official told AFP on the weekend that Hambali, who was captured
in central Thailand in August, had admitted planning to bomb embassies and
tourist zones in Bangkok, and use missiles to attack commercial airliners.
However, he said the attacks were not necessarily timed to coincide with
the October 20-21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit when 21
leaders including US President George W. Bush will converge on the Thai capital.
The Thai authorities have said that, in response, they would boost security
and contingency plans at some sites, including four riverside hotels where
some of the leaders will be staying. |
