THAILAND-BLAST/RELIGIOUS CEREMONY Thai police chief confirms Bangkok blast was not a terrorism act

Record ID: 143096

  • Title: THAILAND-BLAST/RELIGIOUS CEREMONY Thai police chief confirms Bangkok blast was not a terrorism act
  • Date: 21st August 2015
  • Summary: BANGKOK,THAILAND (AUGUST 21, 2015) (REUTERS) PEOPLE INSIDE ERAWAN SHRINE ERAWAN SHRINE SECURITY STANDING PEOPLE STANDING INSIDE SHRINE VARIOUS OF BRAHMIN TALKING BRAHMIN POURING HOLY WATER AT ERAWAN SHRINE MORE OF PEOPLE STANDING POLICE CHIEF SOMYOT POOMPANMUANG (MIDDLE) STANDING WITH OTHER POLICEMEN PEOPLE WALKING WITH GARLANDS PEOPLE OFFERING GARLANDS VARIOUS OF BUDDHIST
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAD8Z4IXJDO8Z0EJAZUCE1N0K5B
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thai government officials and police chiefs attended a religious ceremony on Friday for the victims of the country's worst ever bombing but appeared no closer to determining who carried out the attack and why.
    The only solid evidence seems to be grainy security camera footage showing an unidentified young man apparently planting a backpack bomb at the city-centre Erawan shrine, one of Bangkok's top tourist attractions, on Monday evening.
    Twenty people were killed, 14 of them foreigners and seven of them from mainland China.
    Officials have speculated that the young man, last seen on video footage disappearing into the night on the back of a motorcycle taxi, could be foreign, or a Thai man pretending to be foreign.
    Initial speculation that the plot could be the work of an international terror network has now, apparently, been set aside.
    And on Friday, police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang appeared to back-track on his suggestion the previous day that the bomber was probably part of a network of at least 10 people who spent a month planning the attack.
    "I did not say that we have 10 suspects. But initially, in theory, for people who are experts in this kind of bomb attack, we believe there should be many people involved," said Somyot.
    He maintains that authorities have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
    "From our meeting with security agencies and Thai government and coordinating with international anti-terrorism organisations, they have confirmed that this is not a terrrorist act but the incident aims to discredit the government, destroy confidence and scare tourists," said Somyot after the ceremony.
    The Erawan shrine, dedicated to a Hindu deity, is hugely popular with tourists from China.
    The government has said Chinese tourists were not believed to have been the target. Announcements about the investigation have been broadcast in both Mandarin Chinese and English.
    Asked about his suggestion that 10 plotters were probably involved, Somyot said there might only have been two.
    Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan was among the hundreds of people who took part in the ceremony to pray for the dead. Scores of people were wounded in the blast.
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