S.E. Asia's 'mini-Al Qaeda' nests in Thailand

Until recently Thailand has denied that Al Qaeda or the closely- affiliated Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) are active inside the country. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dismissed reports late last year that JI leaders held meetings in Thailand as "fabrications" invented by "crazy people."

But now his country is moving against a hitherto little-known cell in its southernmost provinces, home of a tiny Muslim minority. This week the government foiled attacks on five embassies in Bangkok and two Thai beach resorts, arresting three Thais and one Singaporean.

Thai arrested for illegal possession of nuclear material

Undercover Thai police, tipped off by U.S. investigators, on Friday arrested a man Friday trying to sell them radioactive material that could be used to make so-called "dirty bombs."

Police did not say if the man was suspected of having terrorist connections, and U.S. officials said the material was not destined for weapons against Americans, as originally suspected.

Al-Qa'ida links to Japan

A HIGH-RANKING member of the al-Qa'ida terrorist network operated for up to a year in Japan before the attacks on the US of September 11, 2001, and examined potential Japanese targets, new investigations by US and Japanese security agencies have revealed.

Security authorities believe the senior al-Qa'ida operative was closely involved in planning the September 11 strikes that hit New York and Washington, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported yesterday.

The operative was in Japan to raise funds and develop al-Qa'ida's support base and also visited a number of Japanese public facilities, the investigators said.

This suggested the group might have been targeting Japan for a possible terrorist strike, they said.

This is the first time any direct link has been made between al-Qa'ida operations and Japan.