Bangkok, Feb 17 (PTI) Thai police today said they were searching for two more suspects, including an explosive expert, as the criminal inquiry into the suspected Iranian plot targeting Israelis overseas with magnetised bombs expanded. The countrywide lookout for more suspects came as media reports said that Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak who made an unannounced trip to Singapore airshow may have been the prime target. But Thailand's police chief Priewpan Damapong denied reports that terrorists were targeting Barak who was scheduled to change planes in Thailand on Wednesday but later cancelled the plan following the bombings on Tuesday. The city police commissioner Gen Winai Thongson said that one of the two suspects for whom the lookout had been sent out may have been providing training in the use of explosives as Thai authorities stepped up security at the country's six international airports which could become possible new targets for acts of sabotage following a terror warning by Israel. Thongson identified one of the suspects 52-year-old Iranian man Nikkhahfard Javad. He said the man had been caught on the CCTV cameras as he left the house that had been used by the Iranians. The roof of the residence was blown off after a cache of explosives detonated accidentally forcing the suspects to abandon the hideout. On the threats to the airports, the country's police chief told the Transport Ministry yesterday to place the Airports, under the Airports of Thailand, on high alert as Israel has warned terrorists may be targeting them. A government source said Israel had advised police directly to boost security at airports, based on intelligence reports it had received, local media reports said. (More) PTI JB AKD
