Thai Authority One Step Closer to Unravelling Bombers Identity

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - On August 17 2015, a moderate-scale of explosive device was detonated inside the Erawan Shrine situated in the heart of Bangkok city, causing the death of 20 people and leaving more than 120 people severely injured.

The lethal instrument that was used to shake Central Bangkok at 19.00 on the evening of August 17 was a TNT bomb stuffed into a pipe and neatly wrapped with white cloth. The TNT bomb was too unbearable to avoid thus it was not surprising to see that among 20 people who are reported dead, 12 died immediately at scene following the deadly tremor.

Two men voluntarily handed themselves to the authority on the 20^th of August 2015 claiming their connection to the catastrophic explosion. These men can also be identified through CCTV footage as they wore red and white T-shirts and stood on bench just minutes before TNT explosive wrecked havoc the heart of Bangkok city.

Bangkok Police Chief, Somyot Poompanmuang told Express news that the explosion was the product of combined work of at least 10 people with the likeliness of the atrocity to have been planned ‘a month in advance’.

"It is a big network. There was preparation using many people.This includes those who looked out on the streets, prepared the bomb and those at the site and  those who knew the escape route.There must have been at least 10 people involved," Somyot said on August 20 2015.

On 29 August 2015, Thai police reportedly captured a man suspected to have been involved in the Bangkok blast including the second one that occurred the following day.

Citing from CNN, Police Spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thabornsiri confirmed the suspect’s arrest to be in his apartment in the suburban area of Bangkok.

"The man we have is not the man in the sketch, but we believe he is part of the network which carried out the two bomb incidents,” Prawut informed.

Local authorities previously detected a man in a yellow T-shirt, wearing glasses and held a backpack in which he decided to leave behind in the surveillance video moments prior to the explosion.

The arrested man may not present himself as physically akin to the primary targeted suspect spotted in the surveillance camera but he has raised enough suspicion following reports on police finding of his 2 fake Turkish passports.

"At first we thought he is Turkish. But we just found out two Turkish Passports he is holding are all fake," Prawut continued.

Police also found scores of fake passports and ball- bearings, bomb- making equipment such as detonators and metal pipe in his apartment situated in Nong Jok Suburb as joint investigative operation executed by high ranking police officers, forensic experts and army personnel was underway.

The area in which the suspect lives in is well known to have been housing Muslim community in Bangkok.

Jonathan Head of BBC news shares about the likeliness of many people blaming 'Islamist insurgents who have for years fighting for an independent state in the south of Thailand'. But it has been learned that the contingent has no record of perpetrating an attack outside of their zone and the blast on August 17 was not a carefully planned tactics of common insurgents especially with tourists as prime targets.

There is also a growing speculation targeting the idea of recent ousting of civilian government through extensive military coup which occurred in May last year. Months prior to such ousting was a series of violent political protest vocalizing popular outcry against preceding regime.  

The investigation upon Bangkok blast continues following the first arrest of potential suspect with Thai police issuing arrest warrants for two more suspects on 31 August 2015. One Thai woman and one foreign man of hitherto unknown nationality have been labeled as local police operation target with possible connection to the Bangkok bombing in mid August.

The female suspect has been identified as a 26 year old Wanna Suansun, who is reported to have been renting an apartment in the Min Buri neighborhood, not far from the apartment of the first arrested suspect. Wanna, who is also known to be Mai Saloh has been named as a suspect following authority’s finding of bomb-making materials in her rented apartment. Police however, did not find her as she is reported by relatives to have been going away for more than three months as she went to visit her Turkish husband.

"The relatives are trying to contact her so that she could prove her innocence to the police. The relatives believe she is not involved," Police Maj. Gen Chalit Keawyarat shared as quoted from US News.

Another warrant was issued for Emrah Davutoglu, the husband of Wanna Suansan. Police went to name him as suspect based on the suspicion of his involvement in organizing the blast in a Bangkok shrine and facilitating accommodation to other suspects.

According to CNN, both Emrah and Wanna left the country at the same time and Thai police spokesman, Prawut Thavornsiri was more than assured of the couple's relevance to the blast and their connection to the larger network inflicting the attack in Bangkok shrine which speculated to be more than people, 8 of which have been given arrest warrants.

The first suspect whose apartment has been raided on the last week of August is currently under authority’ custody with Thai Military Authorities identifying him today (3/9/2015) as Adem Karadak.

Another suspect with close connection to Adem Karadek has been arrested as he was caught trying to cross the border to Cambodia on Tuesday 1 August 2015.

He has been identified as Yusufu Meerailee and it is confirmed that he shared apartment with recently detained Adem Karadek.

Captured in Sa Kaeo province, east of Bangkok as he tried to make his way out of the border and into Cambodia, Yusufu is reported to have been speaking Turkish during investigation.

Deputy Police Chief, Chakthip Chaijinda informed the fact that Yusufu had a Chinese passport in his possession with details of his domicile at Xinjiang Province, the place of Muslim Uighur population.

His fingerprints reportedly matched the bomb-making materials discovered on last weekend raid.

It is speculated that Muslim Uighurs have been the principal suspects of Bangkok blast as authority detects the likeliness of sensitive issue relating tot the controversial deportation of more than 100 Uighurs from Thailand to China in July to play key role in motivating the attack. (Akp/Tnt)