Thai troops would still be sent to Iraq for reconstruction work despite the latest violence in the country, the Thai Supreme Commander Sontat Attanant said on Tuesday afternoon.
"The continuous attacks in Iraq wouldn't affect Thai troops not only because their mission is to help reconstruction and carry out medical service," the general told reporters, "but also because our standpoint is not to involve in any combat operation with any party."
Since early September, Thailand has sent altogether 443 soldiers to southern Iraqi city of Karbala to help local reconstruction and medical service.
Some 34 people died in bomb attacks at the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, attacks against United States soldiers occurred recently in Karbala at a camp some 10 kilometers away from the Thai troops base.
All Thai soldiers were safe but they had been warned against venturing out of camp after recent attacks, according to the report of Bangkok Post.
Sontat also said he believed the Thai soldiers were excluded from the attackers' blacklist for the nature of their mission.
He therefore concluded that situations for the Thai troops at present were not harmful and there's no need to withdraw the troops out of Iraq.
Thailand had sent its troops to East Timor and Afghanistan for peacekeeping missions.
As a non-NATO ally, Thailand was asked by the US to send more troops to Iraq. The two sides are currently working on the issue.
(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2003)
