Be prepared, more bomb attacks likely: Thai PM

Bangkok, Jan 4 (UNI) Thailand Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont today said there can be more bomb attacks in the country similar to the New Year eve blasts here and asked his countrymen to to be prepared for more of such life threatening events.

He said the New Year eve blasts were not linked to the Islamic militancy in the country's south.

''I would like to ask everyone in the country to prepare for life-threatening events like this for a while,'' Mr Surayud, who heads the civilian government set up after the 19 September 2006 military coup, told the military-appointed interim parliament.

Addressing the National Legislative Assembly, Mr Chulanont said the government had been informed by intelligence agencies about the likelihood of terror strikes at shopping malls in the capital on December 31.

The attacks were not the work of Islamic separatists waging a violent campaign in Thailand's three southern Muslim-majority provinces for the past three years, Mr Surayud said, adding, the government had information that ''a group of people living in Bangkok'' were behind the bombings.

However, Thailand's military rulers have assured the international community that the New Year eve bomb blasts would not affect the country's return to democracy.

''The bombings would not affect the schedule for lifting martial law from the country,'' top official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said while briefing Bangkok-based foreign diplomats today.

More than 70 diplomats from 62 embassies were present at the briefing by Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Krit Garnjanagoonchorn who was assisted by the Assistant Commander-in- Chief of the Thai Army and a senior official of the all-powerful Council for National Security.

The diplomats were reassured that the bomb attacks had not affected the process of lifting martial law, drafting a new national constitution and conducting a general election scheduled later this year.

The diplomats were also told that there was little likelihood of the Bangkok bombings having been caused by southern Thai insurgents.

UNI