Growing threats suggest Islamic terrorism spreading in Asia

[dArKeR]

Like ink stains, blots of extremist Islamic terror are spreading across Southeast Asia, with southern Thailand as the latest target and with spurs reaching out to Australia and South Korea.

The rise of an Islamic insurgency in Thailand's Kra Isthmus, where a Muslim separatist movement has been simmering for 20 years, has the marks of a classic maneuver by al-Qaeda, the Islamic terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. He is still at large and broadcast a vitriolic message to Americans just before the US presidential election on Nov. 2.

Al-Qaeda did not start the Muslim insurgency in Thailand, which is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but waited until it was well underway and then may have injected training, weapons, and funds into the movement through its Southeast Asian affiliate, Jemaah Islamiya. "We're watching it closely," said a US official with access to intelligence reports, "and we're hoping to learn more."

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/11/16/2003211311