Thailand police brief foreign diplomats in Bangkok

Bangkok, Feb 21: In the wake of recent spate of deadly weekendbombings in the country's south, Thailand National Police has briefeddiplomats from 38 embassies here amidst concern over likely terrorattacks.

At a luncheon briefing in a city hotel yesterday, acting nationalPolice Chief Seripisut Temiyavej informed the missions of stepped upsecurity measures near the embassies.

These include checks on cars entering mission compounds, thepolice chief said. Police will also share information on terrorsuspects and transnational criminals with the embassies, he added.

The briefing was suggested by Army Chief and Thai coup leaderSonthi Boonyaratakalin following a spate of deadly weekend bombings inthe country's south which killed eight people and wounded over 70.

The attacks, timed with the Chinese New Year on February 18, wereamong the deadliest in the four-year-old separatist violence raging inThailand's three Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Narathaiwat andPattani bordering Malaysia.

The authorities are also apprehensive after the December 31, 2006serial bomb blasts here in view of the approaching Thai New Year inmid-April and a major Buddhist celebration early next month.

Although a link between the Bangkok bombings and the southernIslamic insurgency was initially ruled out, investigators are stillsearching for clues to the identity of the perpetrators.

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