Bangkok bomb inquiry branded 'chaotic' as two men cleared

The Thai police investigation into this week's bombing in Bangkok has been described as "chaotic" as two men initially identified as suspects have been cleared.

The pair were recorded on CCTV standing close to the main suspect, who left a backpack under a bench just before the blast on Monday. Police have said they were satisfied that the two men, a Chinese tourist and his Thai guide, were not involved.

The explosion at the capital's Erawan Shrine killed 22 people and injured dozens of others.

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Authorities are still searching for the main suspect, whose name and nationality is apparently unknown.

Four days after "the deadliest attack in Thailand's recent history" authorities still have "few solid leads" into the perpetrators, says Associated Press.

"Obviously, any attack of this sort, which catches security forces entirely unaware, creates confusion and panic, and a wide range of hypotheses must be investigated to narrow down an investigation," says Dr Lee Jones, a senior lecturer in international politics at Queen Mary University of London. "But the Thai response is particularly chaotic."

The BBC's Bangkok correspondent Jonathan Head says much depends on how efficiently the Thai authorities conduct their investigation and "so far their performance has not been encouraging".

Statements from various agencies have been "conflicting and confusing", says Head.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha appeared to suggest that the suspect might belong to an "anti-government group based in Thailand's northeast", but his office later said the quote had been misinterpreted.

Authorities said it was likely to be the work of a "network" of people, but unlikely to be an established international terror group, apparently leaving the possibilities of a domestic group or a little-known overseas group. However, a military spokesman has since denied ruling out a link to global terrorism.

The crime scene was not sealed off for several hours after the attack, the area has been cleaned up with "surprising speed" and it is not clear how systematically police have interviewed potential witnesses, says Head.

"In previous criminal investigations that have attracted international attention, notably the murder of two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao last September, the Thai police have seemed incompetent and disorganised," says Head. "This time, given the seriousness of the attack, they may do better. It is still too early to say."

Bangkok bomb 'unlikely' to be work of interational terror group

20 August

Thai authorities investigating Monday's bombing in Bangkok have said an international terror group is "unlikely" to be behind the attack which left 20 people dead.The Thai government has revealed preliminary findings by investigators three days after the explosion rocked the Chidlom district, a popular tourist area and home to the capital's famous Hindu shrine of Erawan. Police believe that at least ten people were involved in the attack, which they say appeared to have been planned at least a month in advance."It is a big network. There was preparation using many people," said police chief Somyot Poompanmuang. "This includes those who looked out on the streets, prepared the bomb, and those at the site and... those who knew the escape route."British national Vivian Chan, a 19-year-old law student at the University of London, was among those who died in the attack. Nationals from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China were also killed and dozens of others were injured.Although the shrine is popular with Buddhist and Chinese tourists, authorities said the attack was unlikely to be targeted at China.A reward of one million baht (£17,970) has been offered for information about an unidentified suspect caught on CCTV leaving a backpack under a bench near the shrine shortly before the bomb exploded. Two other men spotted in the video were being treated as accomplices, but have since handed themselves into police insisting that they are tour guides.Police have issued an arrest warrant and requested help from Interpol, but the BBC's Jonathan Head says "they have no names or nationalities, and it is possible these men are no longer in the country".

Colonel Winthai Suvaree, spokesman for Thailand's National Council for Peace and Order, said: "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."

Bangkok bomb: hunt for more suspects after second explosion

19 August

Thai police are hunting for more than one suspect in connection with the bomb that killed 20 people in Bangkok on Monday.

The explosion rocked the Chidlom district, a popular tourist area and home to the capital's famous Hindu shrine of Erawan. British national Vivian Chan, a 19-year-old law student at the University of London, was among those killed in the attack.

Another pipe bomb blew up yesterday at Sathorn Pier, around 7km south-west of the Erawan shrine. Police believe the perpetrator attempted to throw the bomb onto a busy walkway but it missed and landed in the canal, reports the Bangkok Post. The explosion sent up a "large plume of water", but there were no injuries and no damage, said the newspaper.A manhunt is already underway for a suspect captured on CCTV before Monday's blast. The young man, wearing a yellow T-shirt, appears to leave a backpack under a bench just before the Erawan bomb exploded.National police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said: "We are also looking for other suspects in connection with the blast. These types of attacks are not usually planned by one person alone."Another police spokesman, Lieutenant General Prawut Thavornsiri, suggested that authorities were in no doubt about the CCTV suspect's guilt, telling reporters: "The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber."Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has described the bombing as "the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand" and promised to track down those responsible. He accused the perpetrators of trying to destroy the country's tourism industry and economy, and said the man seen on CCTV is thought to belong to an "anti-government group based in Thailand's northeast".

However, opposition activists claim the junta is rushing to blame its political opponents as justification for maintaining military rule.

Bangkok bomb: British teenager among the dead

18 August

A British teenager was among the 20 people killed by a bomb in a prime tourist area of Bangkok yesterday, the Foreign Office has confirmed.Vivian Chan, a 19-year-old law student at the University of London, is believed to have been travelling with a friend who was also killed in the explosion.Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that a British national, a resident of Hong Kong, lost her life in the attack and that British Embassy staff in Thailand were assisting her family. The UK has also offered assistance with the investigation."The loss of life and injury in Bangkok is horrific and I condemn this callous act of violence against completely innocent and unsuspecting members of the public," he said.At least eight foreigners were said to be among the dead and more than 120 people were also injured in the blast near the Erawan shrine, one of the most important shrines in the capital, located in the Chidlom district.Police in Thailand are hunting for a man who was caught on CCTV leaving a backpack near the shrine. Dressed in a yellow T-shirt, shorts and sandals, he can be seen taking off the bag and leaving it underneath a bench.Eyewitnesses said the bomb had caused a "massive amount of damage", with body parts strewn across the road.Defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan said it had become "much clearer" who the bombers were, but did not reveal any further details.Thai authorities are battling an ongoing separatist insurgency in the south of the country, where more than 6,500 people have been killed since 2004. But army chiefs said the type of bomb used in yesterday's explosion was not consistent with attacks in the south.Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said the suspect spotted on CCTV near the shrine was thought to belong to an "anti-government group based in Thailand's northeast".The northeastern Isaan region is a stronghold for the Red Shirt movement, which supported Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin, the siblings deposed by military coups in 2014 and 2006, says Sky News. However, opposition activists claim the junta is rushing to blame its political opponents as justification for maintaining military rule and delaying elections.Yesterday's attack came six months after two pipe bombs exploded outside a shopping mall in the city, the first attack to shake the Thai capital since the military seized power last year, ending months of sometimes violent street protests. Police said the motive behind February's attack appeared to be to create panic rather than take lives.Police said Monday's explosion was also caused by a pipe bomb, which contained 3kg of high explosive.

Foreigners from China, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines were also said to be among the dead.

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