Thailand charges Lebanese with illegal possession of explosives

A foreign suspect of Lebanese origin with alleged links to Hezbollah militants led Thai police Monday to a warehouse filled with materials commonly used to make bombs, as Thailand and the U.S. disagreed over whether Bangkok was the target of a terror plot.     

The raid came after the U.S. Embassy issued an "emergency message" Friday warning of a possible terror threat against Americans in Bangkok, and Israel sent out a similar warning to its citizens. A dozen other embassies have since urged their citizens to exercise caution.         

Thai authorities were caught off-guard by the U.S. announcement, hastily revealing they had detained a Swedish national of Lebanese origin with alleged links to pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants on Thursday and that intelligence indicated a plot could be carried out between Jan. 13 and 15.  

Police were led to the warehouse by the suspect, identified as Atris Hussein. Hussein told police that he and other accomplices had rented the warehouse a year ago, according to a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.        

Hussein was charged later Monday with illegally possessing explosive materials and faces up to five years in prison. He was detained by police Thursday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, trying to leave the country.

Police were still looking for another Lebanese suspect.