Security up for underwater wedding

Security up for underwater wedding

THAILAND: Concerned about a spate of violence, possibly linked to Islamic militants, police will provide maximum security for 36 couples who plan to exchange vows in an annual mass underwater wedding in southern Thailand, an official said on Friday.

The eighth annual event, scheduled for Feb. 13 to Feb. 15 in Trang province, is expected to draw more than 20,000 Thai and foreign tourists.

"Police will be on hand at the airports, hotels, the beaches, wherever the wedding couples and guests are," said police Maj. Gen. Surapol Thongprasert. He said some 1,500 policemen would be mobilized to insure security.

Trang province, located about 890 kilometers south of Bangkok, is a safe distance from the south's predominantly Muslim provinces where raiders brazenly attacked an army camp on Jan. 4 and torched 21 schools. The Thai government suspects that Islamic militants, with possible links to international terrorist networks, were involved. -- AP