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Reuters

Police identified a Thai man on Friday as a suspect in their investigation into attacks that killed four people and wounded dozens in a wave of bombings in Thailand’s south a week ago.
Deputy national police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen identified the suspect as Ahama Lengha from Narathiwat province near Thailand’s border with Malaysia.
We have only issued one arrest warrant in relation to the bomb attacks, and that is for Ahama [Lengha]
Deputy national police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen
A Thai military court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for a then unidentified suspect for attempting to bomb a beach in the tourist island of Phuket.
Kissana said Ahama has not yet been taken into custody and it was not known if he was still in the country.
“We have only issued one arrest warrant in relation to the bomb attacks, and that is for Ahama. It’s because it is clear that he is linked to what happened,” Kissana told reporters.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, which came days after Thais voted to accept a military-backed constitution.
Police and the government ruled out any link to foreign militants within hours of the attacks and insisted the perpetrators were home-grown.
National police chief Jakthip Chaijinda said the attacks could be linked to the referendum but has not given further details.
Suspicion has fallen on domestic political groups including supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was forced from office in 2006.
While Thaksin’s supporters have not been blamed outright, police said last week the attacks were carried out simultaneously by one group on the orders of one person, but gave no further details.

Lawyers for Thaksin have been instructed to file complaints against those accusing him of orchestrating the blasts.
A group of 15 suspects detained by the Thai military investigating the attacks was not involved in the blasts, police said on Friday, adding to confusion surrounding the case.
Police said the group – many of whom are elderly – had in fact set up an illegal political party to overthrow the regime.
“There is no evidence linking them to the bomb attacks in the seven southern provinces based on our investigation, although some of them are involved with lese majeste [royal defamation] and arms trafficking,” said Major General Chayaphol Chatchaidej, a senior official at the Office of Police Strategy.
Wishing you weren’t here? Deadly Thai blasts could hit tourism numbers by up to 200,000
He described them as a splinter faction of the anti-junta Red Shirt movement loyal to Thaksin.
A number of analysts say the most likely culprits are ethnic Muslim militants who have fought a lengthy but local insurgency in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces.
However, Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Monday the attacks were “definitely not an extension” of an insurgency in the south.
Kissana said however, police were working with Malaysia to track down other suspects.
“We have received some answers from Malaysia that are useful and move the case forward,” he said.
Thai police and military have a history of rivalry but since the 2014 coup the military have spearheaded national security investigations.
Previous bomb probes – including an attack on a Bangkok shrine last year that killed 20 – have been marred by confusion and conflicting statements.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse


Thai police name suspect in deadly tourist blasts, investigators working with Malaysia

Thai police patrol the area near the Erawan Shrine, the site of a bombing. Photo: AFP

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 file photo, an ambulance is seen on a street after explosions occurred overnight and Friday morning in the tourist city of Hua Hin, Thailand. Thai authorities said Monday, Aug. 15, they are investigating whether bombings last week at several popular tourist destinations were related to long-term separatist violence in the country's far south, backing away from assertions that partisan politics were behind them. (AP Photo/Penny Yi Wang, File)

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