‘No foreign role’ in Bangkok bomb

Thailand said Thursday global terror groups were likely not behind a deadly Bangkok shrine bombing, but appealed for Interpol help in hunting a foreign man accused of being the prime suspect.

Police released yesterday a sketch of a young man shown on security footage walking into the shrine and placing a backpack believed to contain the bomb, which detonated a few minutes later.

The shrine in Bangkok which was hit by a deadly explosion on Monday reopened to the public today. 11 foreigners were among the 20 killed, while more than 100 other people were wounded.

“Yes, we will take another look at the CCTV footage, back for more than a month”. They both had been sought by police but have denied any connection to the alleged bomber, he said.

Although Pol Lt Gen Prawut, who is also the police spokesman, raised the possibility that the man was Thai and in disguise, the warrant on charges of premeditated murder was issued for a “foreign man, name unknown, who appears in the sketch drawing”.

Late Thursday, national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung described the number 10 as “theoretical”, adding police did not have 10 specific suspects.

Thai police spokesman Lt. General Prawut Thavornsiri earlier said police had questioned the motorcycle taxi driver but did not give details of what the man had told them.

Meanwhile, of 123 people reportedly injured in the blast, 68 remained warded in hospitals, with 12 said to be in critical conditions.

Meanwhile Thailand has asked Interpol for help in tracking down the man they believe planted the bomb that killed 20 people, sending the worldwide police organisation an image of the suspected bomber.

Among the 20 people killed, Thai authorities have identified six victims as Thai and four as Malaysians, along with four mainland Chinese, two people from Hong Kong including a British citizen, one Indonesian and one Singaporean. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, but is extremely popular among Thailand’s Buddhists as well as Chinese visitors.

The two men were seen in the video standing in front of the prime suspect as he removed a backpack and placed it on a bench at the crowded shrine shortly before the blast.

Thai police offered a reward equivalent to $28,000 for tips that would lead to the suspect’s arrest.

Burns also received some online backlash after taking a selfie during the police interrogation, but he said that he was only protecting himself.

Officials various times said that they did not rule out any group, including elements opposed to the military government, though they said it did not match the tactics of Muslim fighters in the south or “red shirt” supporters of the previous administration.

Earlier suggestions that the incident could be linked to Islamists from the southern provinces of Thailand have also been deemed unlikely.