A few stories to note today:
The Bangkok Post reports:
A detained Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist suspect was part of a planned attack on the Chabad Jewish community centre near Khao San road in Bangkok, according to a news website which specialises in intelligence reporting.
Debkafile said on Tuesday that its sources confirmed that Hussein Atris, who was arrested by Thai police at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday night, was part of a planned attack along the lines of al Qaeda’s attack on the Mumbai Chabad [Jewish] centre in 2008, involving the taking of hostages and blowing up the building. Eight Jews were killed in the attack.
The DEBKAfile story, for the record, says:
The Thai police’s capture of a Lebanese-Swedish Hizballah suspect, who was charged Monday, Jan. 16, thwarted a terrorist attack on Bet Habad in Bangkok, involving the taking of hostages and blowing up the building. It was to have followed the same lines as al Qaeda’s 2008 assault on the Mumbai Habad center which killed 8 Israelis and Jews – only more ambitious. The Habad Bangkok is much larger: its hostel has rooms for dozens of lodgers. A second team was to have hit the Khao San Road restaurants popular with Israelis and Americans in a coordinated operation.
I am unfamiliar with DEBKAfile, but as I mentioned on Twitter earlier, this report relies exclusively on anonymous sources. Just noting it for the record. I have heard no official comment along these lines.
More info on Debka is available on their site. There’s also a Wikipedia page with more info on the site.
Meanwhile, CNN.com reports:
Thai police said Tuesday that they would seek court permission to extend the detention of a Lebanese man they have charged with illegal possession of explosive materials.
The move comes amid tension after the United States and Israel warned their citizens in Bangkok on Friday of the possibility of an imminent terrorist attack.
The police charged the man, Atris Hussein, on Monday after finding “initial chemical materials that could produce bombs” in an area just outside Bangkok. The police said Hussein, who also holds a Swedish passport, led them to the location.
(All emphasis mine.)
(Thanks to @benjalord for pointing out the DEBKAfile story.)
Image via CNN.com