Governments in Southeast Asia are on alert for terrorist attacks sponsored by Iraq should a U.S.-led war on Iraq take place. The new alert is in response to credible threats that Iraq is planning attacks across the region in the event of war, and is unrelated to the U.S. warning that al Qaeda may try to strike at U.S. forces abroad. The threat is being taken seriously, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, because Iraq launched attacks in each countryÂ’s capital during the 1991 Gulf War. These attacks were all connected to the Iraqi intelligence service. Officials are concerned that Iraq will fund local groups to carry out attacks. In the Philippines, the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf has admitted receiving funds from Iraq on numerous occasions. In recent days Iraqi diplomats believed to be intelligence agents have been expelled from the U.S., Australia, the Philippines and Romania.
