Thailand Disputes Report It’s Used by Terrorists

The Thai government expressed deep concern Friday over what it called a misleading report in the Los Angeles Times saying that Thailand may be a logistics center for Iraqi terrorist attacks in Asia.

The government is “confident that in spite of the events in the Persian Gulf, there exist no undue risks to the security and safety of all foreign nationals in Thailand,” an official news release said.

The Times report, published Thursday, said that Western intelligence agencies have uncovered leads to a possible network of terrorists trained in Iraq who may be using Bangkok as a “logistics center” for attacks in Asia.

The story said two Iraqis and two Jordanians were arrested this week in Bangkok as a result of the intelligence leads.

On Jan. 19, U.S. authorities warned of a possible terrorist attack in Bangkok on U.S., British, Australian and Israeli interests. Unconfirmed Thai reports have said American authorities issued the alert after learning that weapons had been moved out of the embassy of a Middle Eastern country involved in the Gulf War.

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok issued a statement Friday saying the embassy “continues to receive reports of possible terrorist actions against U.S. interests and citizens in Thailand. This situation may persist into the foreseeable future.”

Thai officials are worried about the effect of the terrorist alert on tourism, a crucial source of foreign exchange. The industry has been hit hard by the Gulf War, with hotels reporting hundreds of canceled bookings daily.