Southeast Asia goes on alert as hunt widens for suspected Bali
\nbombers<\/p>\n
Sutin Wannabovorn
\nAssociated Press\/Bangkok<\/p>\n
Thailand stepped up security at tourist resorts and warned on
\nMonday that terrorists like those who carried out the Bali
\nbombings use a network of contacts to move undetected around
\nSoutheast Asia.<\/p>\n
Malaysia boosted defenses at embassies and border posts, and
\njoined the Philippines in saying its authorities would intensify
\nintelligence gathering about militant networks.<\/p>\n
Officials have ramped up security across Southeast Asia
\nfollowing Saturday's Bali bombings as suspicion fell on Jamaah
\nIslamiyah, a shadowy al-Qaeda-linked group that operated in
\nseveral countries before a regional crackdown starting in 2001.<\/p>\n
Officials warned the bombers may use a network of supporters
\nin the region to evade authorities.<\/p>\n
\"These people (terrorists) are commuting and rotating around
\nin the region,\" Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told
\nreporters on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"These people have been moving among these countries for
\ngenerations. They have close connections and links. Their
\nlinkages come from relatives, friends and they used to go the
\nsame schools,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Citing information \"that causes us to be very cautious and
\ncall a full alert,\" Thaksin said extra plainclothes officers
\nwould be deployed at major tourist spots such as Phuket island.<\/p>\n
Police Gen. Jumpol Manmai, Thailand's intelligence chief, said
\nthere was \"no fresh threat or information about a planned
\nterrorist attack in Thailand but we have to be alert because of
\nthe linkages of these groups.\"<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer of Australia, whose citizens
\nwere among the dead in Bali, warned that Saturday's blasts should
\nnot lead to complacency that further attacks wouldn't come soon.<\/p>\n
\"It is possible there could be further bombings,\" Downer told
\nthe Nine television network. \"People shouldn't think because
\nthose bombings took place there now won't be any bombings for
\nanother year or so, or two years. We don't know. And the risk is
\nalways there and the risk is significant.\"<\/p>\n
A massive investigation involving Indonesian and Australian
\npolice is pursuing two Malaysians as the alleged masterminds of
\nthe Bali attacks, which killed at least 22 people and injured
\nmore than 100.<\/p>\n
The fugitives -- Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top --
\nare allegedly key figures in Jamaah Islamiyah who officials
\naccuse of orchestrating bombings that killed 202 people in Bali
\nthree years ago, and two deadly blasts in Jakarta in the past two
\nyears.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, border security was tightened to prevent the two
\nterrorist suspects from trying to return to their home country
\nand patrols around embassies and tourist attractions were
\nincreased.<\/p>\n
\"All activity at the border areas is being watched closely,\" a
\nsecurity official told The Associated Press on condition of
\nanonymity. \"Intelligence gathering is also beefed up to ensure
\nAzahari and Noordin do not slip through our security net.\"<\/p>\n
In the Philippines, the 115,000-strong police force has been
\nplaced on \"heightened alert,\" requiring at least half of the
\nforce to be on standby in camps.<\/p>\n
Intelligence gathering would be intensified and security in
\nresorts frequented by foreigners would be further strengthened,
\nsaid police Director General Arturo Lomibao.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, senior officials of the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday condemned the
\nBali blasts and said its 10 members would work to \"eradicate the
\nthreat of terror in the region and beyond.\"<\/p>",
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