STRAITS TIMES Singapore
Updated Nov 18, 5.52 pm (Singapore time)

Thais on alert after Citibank terror warning

BANGKOK -- Thailand's government said on Monday that it was investigating an advisory by American-based banking giant Citibank which warned of a possible terror attack in Bangkok during a major festival this week.

The security warning, prepared by the bank's Hongkong-based regional security director, said it was believed that an Islamic militant linked to the Al-Qaeda terror network had travelled recently to the Thai capital from Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces bordering Malaysia.

It said: 'Law enforcement sources stated that the extremist might be involved in planning a terrorist attack to take place in Bangkok between Nov 17 and 21.'

This week, Thailand celebrates Loy Krathong, one of the biggest festivals of the year where large crowds gather around waterways to float krathongs, or flower- and candle-decked arrangements which bring good luck.

The Citibank warning wrote: 'We urge residents and visitors to Thailand to avoid large, congested tourist areas frequented by westerners. This includes night markets, discos and other western tourist attractions.'

Thai Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Noor Matha downplayed the threat of attack but said the government was looking into the advisory seriously.

He told reporters that terrorists 'are unlikely to infiltrate into Thailand, but we are not just standing still. We will digest the news and closely monitor the report'.

The advisory, which a spokesman in Citibank's Hongkong office said was prepared for its staff and clients, warned that nightspots such as the go-go bar districts of Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy should also be avoided.

Mr Wan Muhamad said Thailand's security forces were already on high alert for possible terror attacks during the tourism industry's year-end high season, and that security agencies were now meeting on a weekly basis.

However, he admitted that the Citibank report -- the latest in a series of warnings directed at Thailand after the devastating Bali blasts -- would damage the country's lucrative tourism industry.

'The report will impact on our tourism industry, but our officials are fully mobilised so that in a worst-case scenario


SOURCE:
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