July 23, 2009
PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) - Thai security forces destroyed a suspect motorcycle Thursday at the venue of a meeting attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton but found no evidence of a bomb, police said.
A sniffer dog alerted police to the bike about 300 metres (yards) from a complex of hotels in the resort island of Phuket where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum is taking place.
Police destroyed the motorcycle using a high-pressure water gun designed to take out the electronics of any possible explosive device, causing the sound of a blast that was heard across the complex, a senior police official said.
"There was nothing in it," the police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Security has been tight for the forum, Asia's biggest security meeting, following anti-government protests in April which derailed a major summit of Asian leaders in the seaside resort of Pattaya.
