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Friday August 25, 2:20 PM Thai leader accuses military officers of assassination bomb plot Photo: AFP Click to enlarge BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has accused a small group of military officers of plotting to kill him with a powerful bomb that police discovered near his home. Police defused a potent mix of TNT, plastic explosives, fertilizer and fuel oil found Thursday in the trunk of a car at an intersection near Thaksin's home, which they said was a foiled attempt to kill the prime minister. An army officer was arrested shortly after the bomb was found and charged with illegal possession of explosives, prompting Thaksin to sack a top general. "There are three to four military officers involved in the assassination plot. Some of them are retired," Thaksin said. "We know which group made (the bomb) and more suspects will be arrested," he said. But the billionaire prime minister said that no link had been discovered between the plot and retired general Chamlong Srimuang, who helped spearhead months of anti-Thaksin protests that rattled Bangkok earlier this year. Thaksin said his security team had spotted the car carrying the bomb at least twice in the last two weeks. The premier and other top officials tried to quash speculation in the Thai media that the bomb scare might have been a political stunt. "If somebody had made this story up, no one would have been arrested. Eventually the police investigation will prove it," Thaksin said. Defence Minister General Thammarak Isarangkun told reporters that the bomb was part of a plot to assassinate Thaksin and to bring down the government. "There is a movement to bring the government to collapse and to kill the government's leader," Thammarak said. "These people aim to take the power to lead the country," he said. "If any soldiers did it, we will punish them and the army will take care of this matter," he added. Security officials have warned since late June that they were looking into intelligence reports that unknown forces were plotting to kill the controversial premier. General Panlop Pinmanee, the deputy chief of the powerful Internal Security Operations Command sacked by Thaksin on Thursday, denied any involvement. "If I had done it, I guarantee that the prime minister wouldn't have survived," he told reporters. The bomb was found as campaigning officially began for general elections set for October 15, the second national polls this year. Thaksin's security had already been beefed up ahead of elections, following scuffles between his supporters and groups opposing his rule. The polls are meant to end months of political turmoil in Thailand, but the discovery of the bomb drew worries about how deep the tensions run. "It also gives the impression that not only has the country's political system been weakened but the rule of law, which is the main pillar of democracy, has also been eroded," the Nation newspaper wrote in an editorial. Thaksin, 57, survived months of street protests earlier this year demanding his resignation over claims of corruption stemming from his family's 1.9-billion-dollar sale of telecom stock. He called snap elections in April to end the protests. His party won, but the victory was undermined an opposition boycott. The courts invalidated the results and set the stage for the new polls in October.