Won’t say or can’t say? Tight-lipped Thai police claim they know who ordered bomb attacks
Officers discover unexploded devices during investigation, as suspicion falls on political enemies of the ruling junta and insurgents from Muslim-majority provinces
A series of bombing and arson attacks in southern Thailand that killed four people and wounded dozens was orchestrated by a single person, Thai police said on Sunday, while a man has been arrested in relation to one of the attacks.
Blasts on Thursday and Friday targeted some of Thailand’s best-known tourist resorts, just days after Thais voted to accept a military-backed constitution that paves the way for an election at the end of 2017.
We know who
Subsequently, Thai police discovered unexploded bombs in three top tourist destinations as they searched for clues. Devices were found and defused on Sunday in two bomb-hit areas – the upscale beach town of Hua Hin and the popular island of Phuket, according to the interior ministry permanent secretary.
Police said other unexploded devices were found on Saturday in Phang Nga province.
“These acts were undertaken by a group in many areas simultaneously, following orders from one individual,” Pongsapat Pongcharoen, a deputy national police chief, told reporters.
Thailand’s deputy police spokesman Piyapan Pingmuang was more direct: “We know who was behind it”.