Thailand’s national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung gave a detailed profile of the mysterious assailants, saying there were more than 10 involved and they carefully planned the attack.
Advertisement
The Erawan Shrine is popular with Chinese tourists as well as people from Thailand.
Thailand’s military government spokesman, Col. Winthai Suvaree said on Thursday that the bombing was “unlikely to be linked to global terrorism”.
Chinese nationals were among the dead after Monday’s blast at Erawan shrine in downtown Bangkok, which has left residents fearful of another attack and dealt a blow to the nation’s vital tourism sector.
On Tuesday, police issued an arrest warrant for the prime suspect, describing him as an unidentified “foreign” man.
Somber horns sounded Friday at the site of Bangkok’s deadly bomb blast as officials joined a multi-religious ceremony for victims of this week’s attack, the latest effort to show that the bustling capital was respectfully, if cautiously, moving on. “I believe there must have been at least 10 people involved”, Somyot told reporters, according to Reuters.
The bomb, which police say was made from a pipe and weighed more than 6 pounds, went off about 7 p.m.in an upscale area filled with tourists, office workers and shoppers.
The sketch of the suspect is based on the CCTV footage and a description provided by a motorcycle taxi driver who is believed to have given him a ride on Monday night.
But the police spokesman also cautioned he may have been in disguise and worn a fake nose to hide his identity.
Prawut did not elaborate on how police knew the suspect spoke a foreign language.
Thai authorities said yesterday the man who carried out a devastating Bangkok shrine bombing that killed 20 people was a foreigner and part of a network.
The police sketch of the suspected bomber showed him with black-rimmed glasses, a full head of dark hair and a light complexion.
A huge search is under way for the trio, including a young man in a yellow T-shirt seen on grainy video footage apparently planting the bomb and who could be foreign, say authorities.
Mr Prayuth has called the attack “the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand” and vowed to catch the perpetrators.
CCTV footage of the scene in Bangkok before the bomb attack on Monday.
The attack has raised concerns about safety in a city that draws millions of tourists, and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha “is anxious about the security of people and tourists in Thailand”, the police chief said.
The police on Wednesday announced to offer a reward of 1 million baht ($28,100) for information leading to the capture of the main suspect.
Advertisement
“The attack did not bear the hallmarks of either southern Muslim separatists or red-shirt militants”, said Angel Rabasa, an expert on Islamist militancy at the RAND Corporation.
