Thais arrest 2 men wanted by Malaysia
Two of four people wanted by Malaysian authorities for allegedly planning attacks have been arrested and questioned by Thai security officials, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said yesterday.
He said the officials concerned are investigating whether the suspects have links to the Islamic State (IS) group as reported by the media without sharing details about the arrest.
The disclosure came as Gen Prawit reacted to media reports on April 16 quoting Malaysia’s police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun as saying that authorities were hunting down four militants.
The four suspected Islamic State-linked terrorists are believed to be part of an alleged plot to kidnap and murder police officers as well as attack non-Muslim places of worship.
The media reports described them as “dangerous” and “capable of launching attacks that could pose a threat to national security”.
Earlier, six other suspects were arrested between Feb 27 and March 1 — two of them from Kelantan state, one from southern Johor and the others from southern Thailand.
Gen Prawit admitted there could be attempts by the IS-linked militants to sneak into the country, but ruled out a possibility of them setting up a cell here.
He insisted Thai authorities were closely monitoring all suspicious activities and have found no links to the terrorist organisation. He also assured that measures have been taken to prevent any activities by international terrorist organisations in the country.
Meanwhile, the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) has confirmed the Thai national wanted by Malaysian authorities for alleged involvement with IS is not tied to the terrorist group but likes showing off and bragging about it.
According to Isoc spokesman Col Pramote Phrom-in, security officers have run background checks and in-depth examination and found the person in question has no connections with the terrorist organisation.
He said the man identified by Malaysian authorities as Awae Wae-Eya, a resident of Narathiwat province, fits the profile of a person seeking attention from the online community.