Bomb at Bangkok shrine kills 5

A bomb ripped through the Thai capital of Bangkok in the early evening local time, police confirmed. The explosion, which initial reports say has killed five and injured up to 20, occurred at the Erawan shrine at the center of Bangkok's Ratchaprasong shopping district, outside of a five-star hotel.

The shrine, which features the Thai representation of the Hindu god Brahma, was also the site of violence in 2006, when a man who vandalized the statue with a hammer was beaten to death by the crowd, Quartz reports. BBC reports that bomb attacks in Bangkok are extremely rare.

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