Published: August 02, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Crossfire War - Islamic Militants Set Off 115 Bombs Across Southern Thailand
By Willard Payne
Crossfire War - Southeast Asia Theatre: Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur - Jakarta; Wave of 115 Bombs Detonated by Muslim Terrorist Groups Across Four Provinces in Southern Thailand
Night Watch: BANGKOK - One of the bombs, 5kg, had been placed on a bridge across a railway linking two districts in Songkhla province in Thailand's far south and was remotely detonated. Songkhla is now the fourth southern province to be hit by the two and a half year old violence that has killed more than 1,300 people. The other three provinces are populated mostly by Muslims who have no real identity or connection to Bangkok hundreds of miles to the north: Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.[
BANGKOKPOST]
At least five other trains, including one from Bangkok and the other from the Thai-Malaysia border, had to be stopped as security officials checked the line and stations for other explosive devices. The 115 bombs killed only three people and were placed along railway lines, in public buildings and Buddhist temples. Intelligence is reporting another series of bomb attacks are expected.
It is painfully obivious that the cooperation Bangkok is supposedly receiving from Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta has not been effective in ending the violence by Islamic units attempting to either restablish the indpendent Muslim state that existed a century ago, or to simply extend the Jihad north from Malaysia against Buddhist Thailand. Earlier this year it was reported some of the Islamists carrying out the attacks had been trained in religious schools in Indonesia. Several years ago the New York Times interviewed a young man who left one of them. He said it was a five year course and everything was forbidden and that most of the students stay. The schools are financed by Saudi Arabia and it is obvious they are designed to instill hatred of anything non-Muslim in the Saudi Wahhabi tradition.
By only causing light damage and very little loss of life I suspect it will not force Bangkok to change its current policies of confining their security effort to inside Thailand. But as soon as attacks become more devastating Bangkok will have no choice but to attack the militant training camps that are inside Malaysia's northern Kelantan province. Bangkok has complained about them and even stated more than a year ago they had photographic proof of their existence. Kuala Lumpur claimed ignorance. It is quite possible Malaysia's government may not have complete control over Kelantan and Islamic militant groups are able to operate independently with support from Islamic organizations based in other countries.
Night Watch Information Service
www.crossfirewar.com
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