Thaksin accuses army of plotting to kill him

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.

"I never thought this kind of thing could happen in Thailand. I don't have wicked intentions towards anybody," Thaksin said.

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.

Police said the suspect was a 43-year-old army lieutenant who most recently had been assigned to spy on Islamic militants in Thailand's deep south.

After initially denying the charges, on Friday he confessed to carrying explosives illegally, but not to plotting to kill Thaksin, police said.

The suspect was taken Friday to a military base in Bangkok to await a court martial.

But Thaksin and other top officials tried to quash speculation in the Thai media that the bomb scare might have been a political stunt. Such rumours were fuelled by the contradictory accounts police initially gave of how they found the bomb.