'JI member' held in Cambodia

Sman Ismael is alleged to be a member of JI

Authorities in Cambodia have arrested and charged a fourth man with membership of the extremist Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

The Cambodian national was held in the capital Phnom Penh about a fortnight after three foreigners were arrested as part of a wider anti-terrorist crackdown by the government.

The Egyptian and two Thais arrested last month are still in prison, accused of acts of international terrorism and links to the JI, a regional militant group.

The latest man held was named as Sman Ismael, a 23-year-old Cambodian Muslim teacher at a Kuwaiti-funded Islamic school west of the capital.

Chea Vannak, clerk of the prosecutor of the Phnom Penh court, was quoted as saying that he had been charged "with international terrorism acts and being part of the network linked to JI".

The investigating judge, Oun Bunna, also issued a letter to police authorising the arrest of three more foreigners including "a principal person we are trying to catch", according to the Associated Press.

Mr Ismael had recently returned from Thailand where he was studying at an Islamic school.

On Tuesday, Thai authorities arrested three people whom they said also had links to JI.

The BBC correspondent in Bangkok, Jonathan Head, says that the timing of these arrests is very interesting.

"There is a big Asean summit coming up in Phnom Penh next week, and it is very convenient that the Cambodians are now cracking down on alleged JI members," he said.

He also says that the threat posed by those arrested was unclear.

"We do not really know whether these people are very high-powered members of JI, or just people with some vague connection, who are just being swept up to show the Americans that they are willing to get tough," he said.

Security concerns

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 arrested in May - 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.

Since the 11 September attacks on the United States, and again following the 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.