Cambodia arrests 'JI members'

Three men arrested in Cambodia have been charged with being members of the Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiah.

The men - an Egyptian and two Thai nationals - were arrested on Tuesday evening at a mosque just north of the capital Phnom Penh, and have been charged under the International Terrorism Act, court officials said.

"This is an example of a concerted effort by the Cambodia government to crack down and end terrorism," said Om Yentieng, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Some Western and Asian governments have linked Jemaah Islamiah to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network, and police in Indonesia allege the group was behind the bombings in Bali last October which killed more than 200 people.

The three men - 40-year-old Esam Mohamid Khidr Ali, 36-year-old Hajichiming Abdul Azi and 41-year-old Muhammadyalludin Mading - were plotting to carry out attacks in Cambodia, according to government officials.

"Their aim was to commit acts of terrorism," an Interior Ministry official told reporters.

A senior police official quoted by the French agency AFP said the group had received funds from al-Qaeda through Cambodian Islamic schools via a Pakistani middleman.

"We have followed their activities very closely and we will seek to halt their operations, and some foreign teachers will be deported," the official is quoted as saying.

Since the September 11 attacks on the United States, and again in recent weeks following suicide bombings in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, Cambodia has tightened its security measures.

The predominantly Buddhist country has so far remained free of any specific links to al-Qaeda, or the Islamic militant attacks which have hit other countries in the region.

But the country's weak border controls and poor law enforcement have led some analysts to view Cambodia as a potential hiding place for militant insurgents.