Special report: Crisis in Thailand

    by Shen Min

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks during a meeting at the Government House in Bangkok August 24, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BANGKOK, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Thursday, after police defused explosives in a car roaming near his residence in southern Bangkok in the morning and detained two suspects said to belong to a Thai army institution.

    Thaksin confirmed media reports that two soldiers driving a car carrying explosives were stopped by police after they were spotted by guards posted at his residence.

    Police said that they found inside the silver-grey Daewoo car 67.35 kilograms of TNT explosives, and some urea fertilizer, which is often used to make bombs.

    "It's my lucky day," the caretaker PM said on Thai television, explaining that he has been varying his schedule after the intelligence services told him about danger of assassination. "If I hadn't left an hour earlier than usual, I might not be here now."

    He said he left home early because he had a meeting to attend at 8:30 a.m.

    He said that several other attempts have been made to harm him in recent months when traveling on official duties. He alluded to "incidents" at military airports and a recent car crash that involved a car in one of his convoys.

    Thailand's police chief presided over the still ongoing interrogation of the two suspects, who tried to flee but later was arrested on a charge of illegally possessing explosives. They were identified as serving with the Thai army's Internal Security Operations Command, one of whom is a lieutenant and driver of the car when stopped.

    Following the incident, Deputy Chief of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), Panlop Pinmanee, was promptly sacked on Thaksin's orders. There were unconfirmed reports saying that one of the suspects is Panlop's driver.

    ISOC, headed by Thaksin himself, is a relatively independent military institution founded years ago and now exists with little practical operation.

    Panlop, a retired army general, later in the day denied he was trying to kill the PM, saying that the suspect in question, Lt. Thawatchai Klinchana, was no longer his driver since he reassigned the latter to Thailand's restive deep south to work as an intelligence officer about three months ago.

    Panlop caused consternation earlier this year when he said a military coup could not be ruled out if political instability persists.

Thai forensic police inspect a vehicle in Bangkok August 24, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>