ISOC:Thailand is not terrorist attack target

BANGKOK, April 18 (TNA) - The Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) says that Thailand is not a “target” of terrorist groups, but terrorists could create violence in the country because the Thai Kingdom has good relations with every country, while countries having embassies or consulate offices in the Thai Kingdom may have bitter relations with others. ISOC Spokesman Colonel Banpote Poonpian made the comments on Friday during his special interview with Thai News Agency (TNA), after two suspected terrorists were apprehended at a hotel in Soi Nana off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok during the Songkran or Traditional Thai New Year Festival, officially set from April 12-16, 2014. The ISOC spokesman insisted that Thailand is a free country with no ideological conflicts with any country. The ISOC spokesman reported that both of the foreigners were nabbed on suspicion of having links to Hezbollah, an Islamist militant group, but after interrogations, it remained unclear whether they were members of the militant group. The ISOC spokesman indicated, however, if the two men are Hezbollah members, they should not attack entertainment places or tourism attractions because the venues are not their targets. According to the spokesman, one of the suspects hold a French passport, while the other has a Philippine passport, but both were born in Lebanon. The ISOC spokesman said, as the duo were still suspects and, based on Thailand’s immigration law, they will be deport from the Kingdom, through an appropriate channel, if they are considered being a threat to people and national security, or wanted by other countries. The ISOC spokesman asked people not to be panic, as the Hezbollah militant group does not have any connection with insurgent groups in the violence-plagued Thai far South. (TNA)