Police officers escort a key suspect in last month’s Bangkok bombing, yellow shirt, identified as Adem Karadag at Erawan Shrine during a reenactment for the August. 17 bombing at Bangkok’s popular Erawan Shrine Saturday, September 26, 2015.
Advertisement
The men, Adem Karadag and Mieraili Yusufu, are thought to be responsible for the Erawan Shrine bombing that killed 20 and injured more than 120.
A military court on Friday issued arrest warrants for 17 people over a range of charges in connection to the bombing, including Bilal Mohammed and others carrying Thai, Chinese, Turkish and Pakistani passports.
Police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung said those suspects are “no scapegoat” and confirmed that the case will be finished by the police investigators before the end of this month when he is scheduled to retire.
The second man arrested, Yusufu Mieraili, used a cell phone to set off the bomb, Prawut stated with out giving additional particulars. Police also said earlier that they believed Mieraili conspired in the attack but did not detonate the bomb.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Thailand shrine bombing: Man in custody admits to being suspect in yellow shirt”. He’s previously said Bilaturk, a naturalized Turkish citizen from China’s Xinjiang district, did not enter Thailand until 24 August and was uninvolved in the attack. The lawyer said that his client is not the same person seen on the CCTV footage because he has a different shoulder size as compared to the man seen in the footage.
“After he placed the bomb at the shrine he called a motorbike taxi and changed his shirt at a restroom in (nearby) Lumpini Park”, said national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri.
Somyot said the strength of the evidence had forced the two suspects to confess.
“They are not terrorists because they haven’t announced what they want” Thai police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri told reporters on Wednesday.
The motive for the attack – which dealt a considerable blow to Thailand’s important tourism industry – remains unclear.
Karadag wore a yellow shirt and sat on a bench next to where the backpack was left during the re-enactment.
Police have said the motive for the attack was revenge by a people-smuggling network against Thai authorities for breaking up their operation.
The account contradicts media reports on Thursday, quoting unnamed sources, that Muhammed had confessed to police and detailed his path to the bomb site.
Advertisement
But the new footage shows the suspect near the toilets with a plastic bag in his hand.
