Second foreigner held over Bangkok bombing

BANGKOK, Thailand – A foreign man described as a “main suspect” in the deadly Bangkok bombing was arrested Tuesday, September 1, with Thai police calling him an important figure in the network that staged the attack.

The man detained near the border with Cambodia is the second foreigner held over the August 17 blast at a religious shrine which killed 20 people, mostly ethnic Chinese tourists.

Police also said arrest warrants have been issued for three fresh suspects still at large, two of whom have names which appear foreign. 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said the unidentified foreigner was picked up in Sa Kaeo province on the Thai side of the Cambodian border.

Asked whether he is thought to be the person who planted the bomb at the Erawan shrine in Bangkok’s busy Chidlom shopping district, he replied: “We are interrogating. He is a main suspect and a foreigner.”

National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said investigators believe the suspect is “an important person in the network” behind the bombing, Thailand’s worst single mass-casualty attack.

The man speaks English, Prawut said, adding he appeared “similar” to a prime suspect captured on security camera footage leaving a bag at the scene moments before the blast.

The man was detained around noon trying to cross into Cambodia from the Thai countryside, away from towns or roads. 

DNA samples were being taken from the man, the spokesman added, to see if they match any locations searched by police.

Fresh arrest warrants are also out for three new suspects for possessing bomb-making material, Prawut said, holding up an iPad with sketches of the men.

One was unnamed but the other two were identified as Ahmet Bozaglan and Ali Jolan, although Prawut did not give their nationalities.

The motive for the shrine attack remains shrouded in mystery.

Suspicion has fallen intermittently on Thailand’s bitter political rivals, organized criminal gangs, Islamist militants, rebels in the kingdom’s strife-torn south and sympathisers of refugees from China’s Uighur minority.

As speculation has swirled, a connection with Turkey has repeatedly bounced around local media, although authorities have been loath to single out any country.

In July Thailand deported 109 Uighurs to China, enraging supporters of the minority who allege they face torture and repression back home.

Turkish protesters stormed the Thai consulate in Istanbul and forced it to close.

The shrine is popular with ethnic Chinese visitors to Bangkok.

Confusing statements 

The hunt for the perpetrators of the bomb blast has been characterised by confusing and at times contradictory statements from police and junta officials.

But the tempo of the investigation has increased since the weekend, when the first arrest was made. 

A foreigner was detained on Saturday, August 29, at a flat in a Bangkok suburb, allegedly in possession of bomb-making paraphernalia and dozens of fake Turkish passports.

He is in military custody but has not been publicly identified.

Police had previously speculated that the attack was in retaliation for a crackdown on a major people-smuggling network.

But analysts say crime alone was unlikely to be the motivating factor behind a bomb that brought such carnage. – Rappler.com