Thai authorities said Thursday international terror groups were likely not behind a deadly Bangkok shrine bombing, as the suspected foreign bomber remained at large and two possible accomplices were all but ruled out.
Police also said that the attack on a Hindu shrine in a tourist zone of the capital was carefully planned by a network of more than 10 people.
But in a day marked by conflicting and contradictory information, authorities appealed for Interpol help in tracking down a young "foreign" man suspected of planting the device.
Monday's blast killed 20 people, mostly Asian visitors, leaving residents and even the military junta leader fearing more attacks, while sending shockwaves through the nation's vital tourism sector.
The apparent deliberate targeting of tourists and the scale of the explosion had never been seen in the Thai capital and, with no one claiming responsibility, experts were perplexed over who to blame.
Police also ended some lines of inquiry, virtually ruling out two men seen on CCTV at the shrine and viewed as the bomber's accomplices.
A Thai man "met police and was released", national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said late Thursday, adding a second man from China seen in the same footage had already left the country -- but neither were "likely involved."
While investigators say they retain an open mind as to the motive, Prawut raised the possibility of a "private disagreement" spurring the bombing.
Business and personal conflicts often spill into violence in Thailand, but nothing on the scale of Monday's bomb.
"I can't tell everything," Prawut added cryptically when pressed on the nature of the dispute.
-- Bomb network --
Thailand's national police chief, Somyot Poompanmoung, on Thursday gave the most detailed profile of the mysterious assailants, saying there were more than 10 involved and that they had carefully planned it.
"This blast was carried out by teams... there was a survey team, a protection team, material providing team and exit team," Somyot told reporters.
Earlier Colonel Winthai Suvaree, a junta spokesman, said after discussion with foreign intelligence agencies they concluded "the incident is unlikely to be linked to international terrorism."
Winthai also said: "Chinese people were not the direct target".
This appeared to be aimed at countering accusations run by some sections of the Thai media that militants representing the ethnic Chinese Uighur minority had carried out the attack.
Thai police said they still did not know if the man suspected of planting the bomb at the shrine minutes before the blast was in the country or not.
An arrest warrant was issued for him on Wednesday after police also released a sketch showing him in glasses and with dark hair, describing him as a tall foreigner with fair skin.
The sketch depicted generally ambiguous features that made it hard to determine his ethnicity.
When asked about his ethnicity, police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri used a Thai phrase to describe light-skinned Muslims from South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
But various senior Thai security figures have repeatedly given contradictory information about the suspect, with some also saying he may be European, or part-Thai.
- Confusion, fears -
Adding to the sense of confusion and fear, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he would not attend a memorial service for the victims at the shrine on Friday because of growing fears for his life.
"I am not afraid of dying but I am afraid others may die with me as my risk is increasing day by day," he said at an official function in Bangkok.
Thailand has endured a decade of political unrest amid a power struggle that broadly pits the rural and urban poor -- led by the populist Shinawatra clan -- against a military-backed royalist elite.
Prayut is a former army chief who has ruled the country as the head of a military junta since overthrowing the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in May last year.
The tensions have repeatedly escalated into deadly violence on the streets of Bangkok, but nothing on Monday's scale.
The bomb struck during Monday's rush hour in a popular tourist area in the city's commercial heart, studded by upscale shopping malls and five-star hotels.
It claimed the lives of at least 13 foreigners -- from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Another 67 people remained in hospital by late Wednesday, 12 of whom were in critical condition.
- Suspect groups -
It remained unclear who had the capacity and desire to carry out the attack.
Left with just guesswork, Thai media outlets had cast suspicion on Uighur militants, a group that faces cultural and religious repression in China.
The Erawan shrine is enormously popular among ethnic Chinese visitors from across Asia.
Last month Thailand forcibly repatriated more than 100 Uighur refugees to China, stirring speculation that Monday's attack may have been an act of revenge.
But Uighur groups are not known to have ever carried out an attack outside China and Winthai's comments on Thursday appeared to be aimed at quashing that theory.
Islamic militant groups have also targeted parts of Southeast Asia, including bombings on Indonesia's holiday island of Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people.
Thai authorities said Thursday international terror groups were likely not behind a deadly Bangkok shrine bombing, as the suspected foreign bomber remained at large and two possible accomplices were all but ruled out.
Police also said that the attack on a Hindu shrine in a tourist zone of the capital was carefully planned by a network of more than 10 people.
But in a day marked by conflicting and contradictory information, authorities appealed for Interpol help in tracking down a young “foreign” man suspected of planting the device.
Monday’s blast killed 20 people, mostly Asian visitors, leaving residents and even the military junta leader fearing more attacks, while sending shockwaves through the nation’s vital tourism sector.
The apparent deliberate targeting of tourists and the scale of the explosion had never been seen in the Thai capital and, with no one claiming responsibility, experts were perplexed over who to blame.
Police also ended some lines of inquiry, virtually ruling out two men seen on CCTV at the shrine and viewed as the bomber’s accomplices.
A Thai man “met police and was released”, national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said late Thursday, adding a second man from China seen in the same footage had already left the country — but neither were “likely involved.”
While investigators say they retain an open mind as to the motive, Prawut raised the possibility of a “private disagreement” spurring the bombing.
Business and personal conflicts often spill into violence in Thailand, but nothing on the scale of Monday’s bomb.
“I can’t tell everything,” Prawut added cryptically when pressed on the nature of the dispute.
— Bomb network —
Thailand’s national police chief, Somyot Poompanmoung, on Thursday gave the most detailed profile of the mysterious assailants, saying there were more than 10 involved and that they had carefully planned it.
“This blast was carried out by teams… there was a survey team, a protection team, material providing team and exit team,” Somyot told reporters.
Earlier Colonel Winthai Suvaree, a junta spokesman, said after discussion with foreign intelligence agencies they concluded “the incident is unlikely to be linked to international terrorism.”
Winthai also said: “Chinese people were not the direct target”.
This appeared to be aimed at countering accusations run by some sections of the Thai media that militants representing the ethnic Chinese Uighur minority had carried out the attack.
Thai police said they still did not know if the man suspected of planting the bomb at the shrine minutes before the blast was in the country or not.
An arrest warrant was issued for him on Wednesday after police also released a sketch showing him in glasses and with dark hair, describing him as a tall foreigner with fair skin.
The sketch depicted generally ambiguous features that made it hard to determine his ethnicity.
When asked about his ethnicity, police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri used a Thai phrase to describe light-skinned Muslims from South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
But various senior Thai security figures have repeatedly given contradictory information about the suspect, with some also saying he may be European, or part-Thai.
– Confusion, fears –
Adding to the sense of confusion and fear, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he would not attend a memorial service for the victims at the shrine on Friday because of growing fears for his life.
“I am not afraid of dying but I am afraid others may die with me as my risk is increasing day by day,” he said at an official function in Bangkok.
Thailand has endured a decade of political unrest amid a power struggle that broadly pits the rural and urban poor — led by the populist Shinawatra clan — against a military-backed royalist elite.
Prayut is a former army chief who has ruled the country as the head of a military junta since overthrowing the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in May last year.
The tensions have repeatedly escalated into deadly violence on the streets of Bangkok, but nothing on Monday’s scale.
The bomb struck during Monday’s rush hour in a popular tourist area in the city’s commercial heart, studded by upscale shopping malls and five-star hotels.
It claimed the lives of at least 13 foreigners — from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Another 67 people remained in hospital by late Wednesday, 12 of whom were in critical condition.
– Suspect groups –
It remained unclear who had the capacity and desire to carry out the attack.
Left with just guesswork, Thai media outlets had cast suspicion on Uighur militants, a group that faces cultural and religious repression in China.
The Erawan shrine is enormously popular among ethnic Chinese visitors from across Asia.
Last month Thailand forcibly repatriated more than 100 Uighur refugees to China, stirring speculation that Monday’s attack may have been an act of revenge.
But Uighur groups are not known to have ever carried out an attack outside China and Winthai’s comments on Thursday appeared to be aimed at quashing that theory.
Islamic militant groups have also targeted parts of Southeast Asia, including bombings on Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people.
