Malaysia arrests three suspects in connection with Bangkok shrine bombing
A key suspect in the plotting of last month's deadly bombing in Bangkok was last tracked via multiple flights to Turkey, Thai police said yesterday, as Malaysia announced it had made three 8arrests related to the attack that killed 20 people.
Two Malaysians and a Pakistani national were arrested and were assisting with the investigation, Malaysia's police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday.
"We believe the suspects can help in the investigation," he said. "Our arrest was made to assist the Thai police in the Thai bombing investigation. Malaysian and Thai police are working closely in cooperation."
In Bangkok, Thai police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said he had not received any information from Malaysian police on the 8arrest.
No group has claimed responsibility for the August 17 attack at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people, including 14 foreign tourists, among them seven from Hong Kong and mainland China.
Thai police have said the man who may have actually planted the bomb may have fled across Thailand's southern border to Malaysia, but Khalid refused to speculate on that.
Thailand initially suggested that those behind the blast may have been from a gang involved in smuggling Uygurs from Xinjiang , while others speculated they may be separatists or Islamist extremists angry that Thailand repatriated more than 100 Uygurs to China in July.
Although the motive is unclear, Thai courts have issued arrest warrants for 11 people: one Thai woman, four Turkish men, one Chinese man and five foreign men whose nationalities have not been identified.
Two key suspects are also in custody in Thailand, charged with possession of illegal explosives. One of them was captured from an apartment on the outskirts of Bangkok where police also discovered bomb-making material. The other was caught near Thailand's border with Cambodia, and police said his fingerprints were found on a container with explosive material confiscated from the apartment.
In Malaysia, Khalid said the Pakistani suspect was male, one of the local suspects was female and the other was male. He said there were no plans to move the suspects to Thailand yet.
Additional reporting by Associated Press and Kyodo
