More than 10 Involved in Bangkok Blasts, Prayuth Says

More than 10 people were involved in minor bomb blasts that injured four people around Bangkok last week, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha said Monday, as police awaited results of DNA tests that could establish whether two Deep South men arrested last week were among them.

Nine small devices exploded at five locations around the Thai capital during daylight hours on Friday in what officials called an attempt to disrupt a summit of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) taking place there, with top diplomats from more than 30 countries on hand.

“[We] do not rule out any possible motives. We need to be patient and carefully investigate … there are more than 10 people involved who must be brought to justice,” Prayuth told reporters, referring to the Bangkok blasts. He did not say what his assertion was based on.

“We can’t name the culprits yet, but whoever they are, they are mean, black-hearted, to have created turmoil in the country while it is moving forward with an elected, democratic government,” Prayuth said while speaking at a military academy in central Nakhon Nayok province.

Southern militants rarely mount attacks outside Thailand’s southernmost provinces, where they have been waging a low-grade but persistent insurgency since 2004.

In the latest attacks there, bombs exploded at three ATM booths in Pattani province Sunday morning, security officials said. No one was hurt or claimed responsibility, according to media reports.

Full story: BenarNews

Wilawan Watcharasakwet and Mariyam Ahmad
Bangkok and Pattani, Thailand