Bangkok bombing: At least 10 people involved, Thai police say
Photo:
Thai police earlier released a sketch of a suspect, who they say worked with at least nine others. (AFP: Royal Thai Police)
At least 10 people are suspected of involvement in
the bomb attack in Bangkok this week that killed at least 20 people,
more than half of them foreigners, Thailand's police chief said.
He also said the attack was planned at least one month in advance.
"It is a big network. There was preparation using many people," police chief Somyot Poompanmuang said.
"This
includes those who looked out on the streets, prepared the bomb and
those at the site and ... those who knew the escape route.
"There must have been at least 10 people involved."
The
attack was "unlikely" to be the work of international terrorists and
was not specifically targeted at Chinese tourists, according to
Thailand's ruling junta, known as the National Council for Peace and
Order.
"Security agencies have cooperated with agencies from
allied countries and have come to the preliminary conclusion that the
incident is unlikely to be linked to international terrorism," junta
spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said.
The site of the blast, the Erawan shrine, is popular with Chinese tourists.
He said the alleged attacker was calm and did not speak English or Thai.
Thai police also interviewed the driver and confirmed the story.
Interpol called in
Authorities said they would seek Interpol help in hunting a foreign man believed to be involved in the bombing.
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"We have to use them ... if any country has
information on the suspect, they can send it to us," Thailand's Interpol
unit chief, Major General Apichart Suriboonya, said.
The Interpol 'Blue Notice' asks its global membership to collect additional information on a suspect.
Police said they were still unsure of the man's whereabouts.
"We are doing our best," police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said.
When asked if the prime suspect was still in the kingdom, Mr Prawut said, "I don't know".
Police
earlier released a sketch of the foreign man which showed a
fair-skinned youth with thick, medium-length black hair, a wispy beard
and black glasses.
"He had white skin and must have been a European or
have mixed blood, perhaps with Middle Eastern blood," Mr Prawut said,
without giving a reason for his assumptions other than the colour of the
man's skin.
The sketch was based on footage that showed a man
dressed in a yellow T-shirt dumping a backpack inside the shrine
compound and walking away through a crowd of tourists about 20 minutes
before the explosion.
Mr Prawut said the prime suspect was
overheard speaking a foreign language other than English, although he
did not elaborate on how police knew this.
"We have received a lot
of information from the public since releasing the sketch ... we are
investigating those leads," he said.
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