Thailand police has released reports of warning coming from the Russian government that Syrians connected to Islamic State has entered Thailand to target Russians.
The memo which was passed by the Russian Intelligence Agency was given to the commander of Thailand’s Special Branch, and then was sent to the police unit.
Dated on November 27, the memo was marked urgent, and provided information of the whereabouts of the Syrians who entered the country. It reads, “They travelled separately. Four went to Pattaya, two to Phuket, two to Bangkok and the other two to an unknown location.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) notified the police that the Syrian militants who entered Thailand are targeting Russians, and were inside the country between 15 and 30 October.
The memo also calls for a tighter and enhanced security because the Syrian militants have planned to target “”Russians and Russia’s alliance with Thailand”.
However, the Thai police requests the public to remain calm, as they have not yet verified the presence of the Syrian militants in the country, and still have to check if the Syrians have even arrived in the places indicated in the memo.
Songpol Wattanachai, deputy spokesman proved the memo was not a hoax, but he also said the informatiion needs to be proved, “we have no proof if they are here for real or not”.
Thai government is asking the public and tourists to remain at ease, and assured the public that there is no unusual movement.
In August, the first major terrorist attack occurred in a Bangkok temple, killing 20 people. Arrested and charged are two Muslims. Although the attack was linked to people-smuggling gangs, and Islamist militants, there are still 15 other suspects responsible for the bombing.
Immigration Bureau commissioner Nathathorn Prausoontorn told Reuters news agency that of the 231 Syrians who had entered in October, only 21 remain and there were “no irregularities” among them, BBC reports.
