ISIS insurgents drive by in a convoy in Northern Iraqi town of Raqqa.
Advertisement
Russian Federation began air strikes against IS in Syria at the end of September. A month later, a Russian passenger plane was downed by a bomb over the Sinai desert in Egypt killing 224 people, mainly Russian holidaymakers. “I have to deal with this issue now”.
The document was circulating on social media on Thursday.
But Thailand’s national police chief Jakthip Chaikinda told reporters the “document was real”. “We received it from Special Branch”, said one of the police officers who wished to remain anonymous.
He declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. “I don’t know how the document leaked”.
Reuters reported police as saying that the Syrians in question split up and traveled to Pattaya, Phuket, and Bangkok – areas popular with Russian and other holidaymakers – as well as to an unnamed location.
A deputy spokesman for the Thai police Songpol Wattanachai confirmed the memo was authentic, but added: “So far it’s only intelligence news that still needs to be proved… we have no proof if they are here for real or not”. “Everything is safe, rest assured”. But he said Friday that the information is an unconfirmed intelligence report.
But Thai authorities said they had still to determine whether the Syrians had even entered the country.
“There is a definite connection between Southeast Asia and Syria”, UNODC regional representative Jeremy Douglas said on Friday, adding Thailand would need to work with its neighbours to deal with the threat.
Islamic State later claimed responsibility for bombing and the November 13 attacks on Paris which killed 130 people, raising the global alarm over the possibility of further terror attacks by groups of gunmen and bombers.
Advertisement
That has heightened speculation of a link with supporters of the Uighurs, who say they face persecution in their homeland.
