Thai police confirm Russian warning of Daesh attack

By CS Thana

BANGKOK

Thai police have confirmed that the Russian intelligence service has warned of a possible attack on Russian assets in Thailand by Daesh militants.

Deputy police spokesman Songpol Watanachai told reporters Friday that an internal memo to Thai police officers leaked to Thai press detailing a warning from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) over possible Daesh attacks was indeed real.

The memo asked police to investigate FSB claims that ten Syrian nationals with links to Daesh had entered Thailand with the intention of carrying out attacks on Russians in the popular tourist resorts of Pattaya and Phuket.

Watanachai said that although the memo was authentic, police were still investigating the claims and that there was no present reason to be alarmed.

On Friday, Colonel Banphot Phunphien of the army's Internal Security Operation Command also played down any fears, telling Anadolu Agency, that there was no reason to panic, as "Thailand has no quarrels with any nationality."

On Aug. 17, a powerful bomb exploded at the Erawan Shrine in the heart of Bangkok's commercial district, killing 20 people and leaving over 130 injured.

Two Chinese men have been charged with the attack, both of whom are members of the country's Muslim Uighur ethnic group.

Chuchart Kanpai, the lawyer for one of the men, has said that the explosion was carried out to avenge injustice faced by the Turkic ethnic group, in particular the deportation of 109 Uighur to China in July.

Calls by Anadolu Agency to the Russian embassy have not been returned.