Bangkok police are looking for a Middle-Eastern terror suspect who is believed to be loose in the Thai capital.
On Friday night, Thai police released a sketch of the suspect a few hours after they apprehended Swedish-Lebanese man Atris Hussein, The Bangkok Post reported. Hussein is suspected to have links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.
Police Spokesman Pol Gen Piya Uthayo said that the terror suspect is believed to be in Bangkok, but that he could also have moved to other popular tourist destinations.
National Police chief Priewpan Damapong said that Hussein had admitted a terrorist plot, but disavowed knowledge of the other man. “The suspect told us that the movement cancelled the plan after the authorities learned about it,” Priewpan said according to The Nation.
Security has been stepped up at several tourist areas around Bangkok including Khao San and Rambuttri roads and Sukhumvit Soi 22.
Eleven other countries followed suit and gave a warning to their citizens, including Israel, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany
Thailand Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul was not amused by the warnings, saying that they could be detrimental to the country’s precious tourism industry.
“The matter will be raised for talks [with the US military attache] tomorrow. The matter has affected not only security but also the economy,” he said, according to the Bangkok Post. “As for what the US has done, I have already expressed my disappointment through the media and this was a diplomatic way of telling the US off for not consulting with Thailand first.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that she has ordered the foreign ministry to clarify the situation with embassies so as to avoid negative impact on tourism, MCOT reported.
A sketch of the alleged terror suspect.
