BANGKOK, Dec. 4 (UPI) — Ten Syrians with suspected ties to the Islamic State have entered Thailand and may be intent on targeting Russian interests there, according to a leaked Thai police memo.
The memo from a commander in Thailand’s Special Branch to Thai police, with information provided by the Russian Federal Security Service, has been published by several media outlets in Thailand. It says 10 Syrians may have entered Thailand in October and headed for various parts of the country with plans to target “Russia and Russia’s alliance with Thailand.”
Songpol Wattanachai, deputy spokesman for Thailand’s national police force, said the memo is legitimate, and that security in Thailand was tightened after the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris.
Thailand attracted 1.5 million Russian tourists in 2013.
Since it became involved in an airl war against IS in September in support of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia has become an IS target. A group with links to IS claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian passenger jet leaving Sharm al-Shiekh, Egypt, in October. All 228 on board were killed. On Dec. 3, IS said it beheaded a Russian spy.
