A man suspected of planting a deadly bomb in Bangkok is part of a wider "network", Thailand's top policeman said Wednesday, as monks led prayers and reopened the shrine where 20 people were killed.
The blast struck on Monday evening as worshippers and tourists crowded into the Erawan shrine in the Thai capital's commercial heart, but with no claim of responsibility the motive and identity of the culprit remain a mystery.
The unprecedented attack left at least 11 foreigners dead, with visitors from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and a family from Malaysia among the victims.
Another 68 people remain in critical condition after a blast that shredded bodies and incinerated motorcycles at one of the city's busiest intersections, sending a shockwave through the country's pivotal tourist industry.
"It's a network," police chief General Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters without elaborating, a day after CCTV footage emerged showing a suspect leaving a backpack moments before the blast struck.
"We believe there must be people helping him, Thai people," he added, appearing to rule out the action of a lone wolf attacker.
Police had initially said a second explosion at a Bangkok pier on Tuesday that caused no injuries may also be linked, deepening fears for residents as police conceded they do not know who was responsible.
But on Wednesday Somyot said the second attack might also be a "copycat" and that police were keeping all options open.
Thai police have now offered a one million baht ($28,000) reward for information that leads to the arrest of the main suspect.
Widely circulated video of the suspect, apparently young and slightly built, and sporting glasses and shaggy dark hair, has prompted social media chatter that he could be a foreigner.
In a televised address Wednesday, Thai junta spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said security has been tightened in tourist areas "especially where there are many Chinese tourists, to regain their trust and confidence".
The Erawan shrine -- a popular tourist attraction that typifies the kingdom's unusual blend of Hindu and Buddhist traditions -- and its surroundings have already been largely restored and the pools of congealed blood scrubbed away.
Twisted iron railings were the only immediate sign of the blast point, which police believe was caused by a bomb made up of three kilograms of high explosives.
Buddhist monks chanted as they led the morning ceremony that drew together devotees, including tourists, who knelt and held joss sticks.
A relative of the dead Malaysians had laid bundles of clothes and ceremonial money at the shrine to help their departed loved ones find comfort in the afterlife, witnesses said.
One devotee at the shrine had more reason than most to give thanks.
Tommy Goh, 56, a Thai-Malaysian from Penang, said only a delayed taxi from his hotel spared him from being at the shrine around the time of the blast.
"We were meant to be here around 6:50-7pm but the taxi didn't arrive from the hotel... so we went somewhere else," he told AFP.
"Ten minutes later and it could have been so different."
Bombs linked?
Police released images Tuesday showing the suspect, wearing a bright yellow T-shirt and dark shorts, walking into the shrine with a backpack.
In the security footage he casually places the backpack underneath a bench and then walks away clutching a blue plastic bag and what looks like a smartphone.
The bomb exploded several minutes later, leading Thai police to make the man their prime suspect.
There have been mixed messages from senior police about whether the first bomb and the small explosion on Tuesday are linked.
Colonel Kamthorn Ouicharoen, head of the police bomb squad, confirmed the bridge device -- which was hurled into the water and shocked pedestrians -- was the same type as the one detonated at the Erawan shrine.
"It's exactly the same, the equipment used to make it, the bomb size," he said.
Somyot had also previously suggested a link.
But a senior source at the National Security Council said the difference in execution and intent of the two attacks reduced the likelihood of a tie.
"The second bomb appears aimed at inciting unrest," rather than killing, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Thailand has experienced a near-decade-long political crisis that has seen endless rounds of street violence.
But it has never seen anything on the scale of Monday's bomb and foreigners are generally not targets in a country that prides itself on extending a warm welcome to outsiders despite any political troubles.
A festering insurgency by Muslim rebels in the Thai south has claimed 6,400 victims -- the majority civilians -- but is a highly localised conflict.
Monday's attack has caught Thailand's junta flat-footed, raising security fears at a time of deepening discontent with the economy, a contentious new constitution and the kingdom's poor human rights environment.
The military seized power last May, casting its coup as a necessary evil to prevent the country imploding after months of protests against the former government.
But with the bomber still on the run ordinary Thais said they fear another attack.
"I'm still scared because you never know where they (the perpetrators) will strike again," 43-year-old Sommai Gazem told AFP.
AFP
Wed Aug 19 2015
This handout photograph released by Thai Police on August 18, 2015 shows CCTV footage of a possible suspect in the bomb blast, seen close to the Erawan shrine in Bangkok on August 17, 2015. -AFP
Serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram: 500 anggota, pegawai polis sertai solat jenazah
Hampir 500 anggota dan pegawai polis menunaikan solat jenazah dua anggota polis yang terkorban dalam tragedi serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram pada pagi Jumaat.
‘The Experts’ tampil genre berlainan buat peminat
Teruja, kelakar dan mendebarkan.
Itulah perasaan yang sesuai digambarkan, apabila menyaksikan filem terbitan terbaharu astro shaw, 'The Experts' dalam malam galanya pada Jumaat.
Itulah perasaan yang sesuai digambarkan, apabila menyaksikan filem terbitan terbaharu astro shaw, 'The Experts' dalam malam galanya pada Jumaat.
X kini beralih kepada domain X.com, tidak lagi guna jenama Twitter
https://amanz.my/2024454834/
Serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram: Gerakan JI di negara ini masih terkawal - Saifuddin
Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail memberi jaminan gerakan Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) di negara ini masih terkawal.
iPhone 17 Slim dijangka hadir dengan rekaan kamera belakang di bahagian atas-tengah
iPhone 17
Filem baharu Mawi kupas kisah penyakit misteri Ustaz Kazim
Semasa penggambaram filem Zim Zim Ala Kazim, penyakit misteri Ustaz Kazim datang balik, darah keluar dari kulit badan penceramah itu.
Tiada bekalan perubatan diterima di Gaza selama 10 hari - WHO
Penutupan lintasan Rafah ke Gaza oleh Israel telah menyebabkan "situasi yang sukar."
[TERKINI] Tujuh individu direman di IPD Seri Alam
Tujuh individu, termasuk lima ahli keluarga suspek, akan direman di IPD Seri Alam bagi membantu siasatan serangan di Balai Polis Ulu Tiram. Dua anggota polis maut dalam kejadian tersebut.
[TERKINI] Penyerang tiada agenda besar, bertindak sendirian – Saifuddin
Suspek utama yang menyerang Balai Polis Ulu Tiram di sini pada Jumaat, hingga menyebabkan kematian dua anggota polis, didapati tidak mempunyai motif atau agenda yang lebih besar, kata Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Ibu bapa menabung bolehkan 8 sekeluarga tunai haji bersama
Bagi musim haji 1445H/2024M, kehadiran lapan sekeluarga termasuk lima beradik mendapat rezeki mengerjakan haji serentak disumbang hasil perancangan serta simpanan wang selama lebih 18 tahun oleh ibu bapa mereka, yang berhajat mahukan semua anaknya menunaikan haji di usia muda.
MPC tutup kempen di Bangkok dengan cemerlang
Dalam aksi peringkat terakhir, pelumba MPC berhasil meraih tempat kedua dengan mempamerkan kemahiran dan keazaman luar biasa.
Mohammad Rifdean idam kontrak ONE Championship, tali pinggang
Atlet dari Sarawak itu memerlukan 78 saat untuk menundukkan Pichai Lookbanmai dengan pukulan TKO dalam pertarungan ONE Friday Fights 56.
Kedutaan lancar kempen promosi produk Malaysia di Thailand
Kempen "Taste of Malaysia" merupakan program berterusan untuk meningkatkan identiti jenama produk Malaysia di Thailand.
Kecoh apabila dua kumpulan pondan bertempur di Bangkok
Polis bergegas ke tempat kejadian sejurus menerima laporan 20 wanita transgender warga Filipina menyerang dua wanita transgender warga Thailand.
Bangkok dilanda jerebu tebal, seluruh Thailand catat udara tidak sihat
Bangkok dan 66 wilayah di Thailand itu terus diselubungi jerebu dengan zarah tidak selamat pada PM2.5 direkodkan pada Khamis.
Bangkok diselubungi asap, pekerja bekerja dari rumah
Bangkok disebungi asap tidak sihat dengan zarah PM2.5 melonjak melepasi paras selamat pada 50 ug/m3, mencetuskan kebimbangan kesihatan awam.
Negara membangun perlu perkukuh sektor logistik dan rantaian bekalan - Ismail Sabri
Penekanan kepada tenaga kerja mahir dan mempromosikan inovasi juga menjadi antara faktor untuk memperkukuh sektor logistik.
Sekurang-kurangnya 20 maut kilang bunga api meletup di Thailand
Sekurang-kurangnya 20 maut dalam satu letupan di sebuah kilang bunga api di Suphan Buri, kira-kira 120 kilometer utara Bangkok pada Rabu.
Thailand rancang perkenal lebih banyak produk, perkhidmatan untuk tarik pelawat Malaysia
Warga Malaysia mendahului dengan 4.56 juta pelawat daripada jumlah keseluruhan 28 juta pelancong yang melawat Thailand pada 2023.
Jenazah Pegawai Kedutaan Malaysia di Bangkok selamat dikebumikan
Jenazah Fadzilah Abu Hasan selamat dikebumikan pada 9.50 malam di Tanah Perkuburan Taman Raudhatul Jannah Khariah, Kampung Limau Manis, Kajang.