Thai police foil suspected Hizballah Passover plot

Two out of three suspected members of a terrorist cell preparing attacks on Israeli tourists during Passover – which coincided with the Songkran festival – were rounded up by the Thai police. The Prime Minister’s security adviser Paradorn Pattanatabut identified the two detainees as Lebanese-French national Daoud Farhat and Lebanese-Philippine national Youssef Ayad. A third suspect,Bilal Bahsoun may not have entered the country. The NSC chief did not say whether the plot was related to Hizballah. DEBKAfile: The detained suspects were apparently under close observation from the time they arrived following a tip-off from a foreign counter-terror source.