After Monday’s bombing at the Erawan shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok’s heart, Thais are asking themselves if it was a result of growing internal political tensions or external forces taking their battle to the streets of the Thai capital.
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Prawut earlier released several photos of the man, with and without the backpack, on social media.
The government said the attack, that targeted a commercial center full of tourists, was meant as a blow to the country’s economy.
The shrine – a popular tourist attraction that typifies the kingdom’s unusual blend of Hindu and Buddhist traditions – and its surrounding had already been largely restored.
Thai police are looking for more suspects in connection with a bomb in Bangkok this week that killed 22 people, including a Briton.
“We need more evidence before we can make any conclusions”, he told reporters at a news conference, saying that police were studying more than 10 days’ worth of CCTV footage from the area.
‘There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aimed for innocent lives.
In a videa footage revealed by the police, a man wearing a yellow T-shirt, who appeared young, walked into the shrine with a backpack, which he later left underneath a bench.
David Cameron said he was “deeply saddened” after the Foreign Office confirmed the death of a British national from Hong Kong in the bombing. No individuals or groups have claimed responsibility for the explosion that killed at least 20 civilians and wounded 125 others.
Police said later that they had called two or three people for questioning as they search for the main suspect.
A second explosive thrown from a bridge towards a river pier on Tuesday increased unease especially among tourists even though no one was injured.
He said the “suspect” could have affiliations to the “anti-government group based in Thailand’s north-east,”where the anti-coup Red Shirt movement has been dominant”.
Four Chinese, including two people from Hong Kong, were among the dead, China’s Xinhua news agency said.
Chan-O-Cha on Tuesday branded Monday’s bombing the “worst ever attack” on Thailand, as he gave the first indications of who authorities believed were responsible.
Srisompop added that the injured victims were mostly Chinese nationals.
Thailand has suffered many violent attacks in recent years, particularly in a decade-long insurgency by Muslim separatists that has killed over 5,000 in the country’s south. Those attacks have never reached the capital, however.
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Another possibility that could be associated with the incident is the good relations between Thailand and China.
