Thai suspects 'admit JI links'

Western embassies in Bangkok were allegedly targeted

Two Thai Muslims arrested on suspicion of planning to attack western embassies and tourist spots have confessed that they belong to regional terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), according to Thai police.

A senior policeman said that two men, a religious teacher and his son, have admitted to the plot, and to membership of JI.

A third man, a medical doctor who is also being held, has admitted to forging passports for the group, police said.

The men were arrested on Tuesday in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia, and were taken by helicopter to Bangkok for interrogation on Wednesday.

We have evidence to prove that they were plotting to conduct violence in the country

Major General Chumpon Manmai

JI has been accused of carrying out last October's bombing on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali which killed more than 200 people.

Australia and New Zealand last month advised against non-essential travel to Thailand, warning that the country was at risk of attack by Islamic militants.

The US had been pressing Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to take more action against Islamic groups it believes are using Thailand to plan attacks on western targets.

Mr Thaksin has long insisted there was no evidence of militant activity in his country, but the latest arrests seem to suggest that the Thai government is taking the threat of terrorism more seriously, says the BBC's Bangkok correspondent.

"We have evidence to prove that they are members of (Jemaah Islamiah) and that they were plotting to conduct violence in the country," said Major General Chumpon Manmai of the most recent arrests.

Police have accused the men of planning to carry out attacks in the tourist resorts of Pattaya and Phuket, as well as foreign embassies in Bangkok.

"I assume that the targets were those which have a high concentration of foreign tourists," foreign ministry spokesman Hasak Puangketkaew told the BBC's East Asia Today programme.

Our Bangkok correspondent says that local residents in southern Thailand are puzzled by the arrests, particularly that of Doctor Waehamadi Wae-dao, who is a respected community leader.

Our correspondent says that some people believe the doctor's detention has more to do with long-running friction between the Muslim community and the security forces as he has been a critic of the police.

Singapore detention

Officials in Singapore on Tuesday announced that an alleged senior member of JI was arrested in Bangkok last month and was now in detention in Singapore.

The Singapore Government said the suspect, Arifin bin Ali, alias John Wong Ah Hung, was detained following a tip from the island state's intelligence agency.

A government statement said the man's targets were five foreign embassies in Bangkok, including the Singapore mission.

The issue of regional terrorism is expected to be high on the agenda of a meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) to be attended by US Secretary of State Colin Powell next week.

Just two weeks ago in Cambodia, three men including two Thai Muslims were arrested and accused of being members of JI.