JI warnings fuel fears of more attacks

JI warnings fuel fears of more attacks

Darren Schuettler, Reuters, Bangkok

Fears of fresh attacks by Southeast Asia's al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network mounted on Wednesday ahead of the first anniversary of the Bali bombings and two major regional summits next month.

Thailand, due to host 21 Asia-Pacific leaders in Bangkok who will include U.S. President George W. Bush, said it had foiled a plot to attack Israeli planes. But its heightened security may not be enough to alleviate concern the country is a soft target.

Australia told its people to stay away from Indonesia around next month's first anniversary of the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, citing the risk of fresh attacks.

Indonesia will host a summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next month on Bali with regional security expected to be on the agenda.

Despite the capture of several high-profile Islamic militants in the region, including Hambali, the reputed JI operations chief believed to be al-Qaeda's top man in Southeast Asia, analysts say the risk of attacks is high.

"There are still explosives out there. We know that JI people are still at large and they know how to construct bombs," said Steve Wilford, Southeast Asia analyst at Control Risks Group.

"Something is going to go off. It's a question of when rather than if," he told Reuters.

Australians planning to go to Bali to mark the Oct. 12 anniversary of bombings that killed 88 Australians, were told on Wednesday that further attacks were being planned.

"Jamaah Islamiyah continue to have the capability and intent to mount attacks in the region," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a travel advisory. "The threat extends beyond the formal commemorative venues and events.

Indonesian police said the threats were real, but there was no connection yet to the Bali anniversary.

"What we know is that there are bombing plans and we will use all of our efforts to thwart them," said national police spokesman Zainuri Lubis.

ASEAN, with more than 500 million people and two million military personnel, faces myriad security issues ranging from terrorism to territorial disputes and drug smuggling.

Southeast Asian security chiefs conceded earlier this month they needed to strengthen their often patchy cooperation in the fight against terror.

Hambali's arrest in Thailand was hailed as an example of the kind of shared security and intelligence work the region needs.

But it also raised fears that Asia's Islamist militants are at work in the country, where leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gather for an Oct. 19-Oct. 21 summit.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, an ex-policeman who has staked his reputation on a trouble-free summit, said on Wednesday JI operatives were planning to attack Israeli planes in Bangkok when they were captured last month.

"They confessed they aimed to destroy some Israeli planes here," Thaksin said after Israel's Channel Two said Thai police foiled an al-Qaeda plot against El Al aircraft by arresting an operative of the group.

He gave no other details, but a senior Thai security official told Reuters the confession came from a Malaysian called Li-Li who was caught in August a few hours before Hambali's capture.

Earlier this week, Thaksin dismissed a New York Times report citing unnamed security sources as saying Hambali was planning attacks on two Bangkok hotels and commercial airliners landing at one of Asia's busiest airports.

Tourism is a key money spinner for Thailand with nearly 11 million visitors in 2002, but the industry suffered this year due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Asia.

Britain said in a travel advisory for Thailand on Tuesday there was "a continuing threat to Westerners from terrorism throughout Southeast Asia."

"We believe that there is currently an increased risk of terrorist activity in Thailand," it said.

Thailand says it is ready to cope with any threat.

Security has been stepped up at luxury hotels, the airport and summit venues. Up to 10,000 soldiers and police will be deployed during the meetings.

"They will have the bases covered as far as the summit is concerned, but the danger is an attack on a softer target -- a bar, restaurant or shopping mall where the concentration of Westerners in these places is quite high," said Wilford.