Thai bombing: Video footage reveals potential suspects

Investigations continue at the Erawan Shrine the morning after an explosion in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015.

Ms Chan’s friends from the Thai Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London said they were “deeply saddened” by her death. “But we need to look at the before and after CCTV footage to see if there is a link”, Mr Somyot told a news conference. “They want to destroy our economy, our tourism”.

Some social media users began pointing out similarities between actor Sunny Burns and a suspect seen in CCTV footage, below, before Monday’s attack.

THE Philippines denounced the horrific bomb attack near a Hindu Temple in Bangkok on Monday which killed a number of people and injured more than 100, including a Filipino, and described the incident as an apparent intention to sow terror.

The leader of the military junta, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, went on television to reassure foreigners of their safety and to promise that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

Nationals from China, Hong Kong, Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are among the foreigners killed in the attack.

“At first we thought it was just thunder because there’s been electrical storms all day so we didn’t think much of it”.

Witnesses reported that someone had hurled an explosive device at a busy riverside pier in Bangkok but missed his target and the bomb detonated in the river. They said the blast was caused by a pipe bomb.

Thai government spokesman Maj Gen Weerachon Sukhontapatipak said the suspect did not appear to be Thai, nor did the detonation bear the hallmarks of previous bombings by southern Thai insurgents.

Thailand’s Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said officials had no prior intelligence about the attack. Here is a summary of what we know and don’t know.

Thai forces are fighting a low-level Muslim insurgency in the predominantly Buddhist country’s south, but those rebels have rarely launched attacks outside their heartland. No one has claimed responsibility. There are two possibilities between politics and international issues.

Similarly, the U.S. government released a statement extended sympathies to the victims and warning U.S. citizens in Bangkok to avoid the area.

Less than 24 hours after the rush-hour blast, some tour operators to Thailand were already reporting cancellations and Hong Kong issued a “red alert” travel advisory warning against non-essential travel.