38 charged in guerrilla attack in Cambodia

Three of the suspects were charged in absentia. They live in the United States, which has been asked to arrest and extradite them. The alleged leader of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters, Chhun Yasith, was among those charged in absentia by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the court's prosecutor, Yeth Chakriya said Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week, a military court laid similar charges against the Cambodian-American, but the case has now been transferred to the civilian court, the prosecutor said. Two others charged in absentia were Tong Samouen and Pra Hith, both believed to live in the United States.

A fourth Cambodian-American, Richard Kiri Kim, was captured in Cambodia and was among the 35 people in custody who were charged Wednesday. They are accused of leading Friday's surprise attack by about 70 men armed with rocket launchers, grenades and assault rifles on several government buildings, including the Council of Ministers and Ministry of Defence.

Military and municipal police battled the raiders for more than an hour in the capital's streets, killing seven of the attackers, police said. One civilian was killed in the cross-fire.

The Cambodian Freedom Fighters later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a written statement faxed from Bangkok that it aimed to "test" the government and also to disrupt this week's scheduled visit of Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong. Luong cancelled his visit after the attack.

(la/dpa)